Panama’s GDP up 8.8% in the first half of the year

Panama’s gross domestic product increased by 8.8% in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.

According to the Comptroller’s Office, the first quarter registered greater dynamism, increasing by 9.3% compared to the same period last year, while in the second quarter (from April to June) the growth was 8.2%, which together gives 8.8% for the first half of the year.

Between April and June, construction, permits, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, electricity and water, restaurants, and land transportation performed better in economic activity, with increases in Metro and MiBus passengers of 15.7%. and 6.1%, respectively.

In contrast, the activities that decreased in proportion in those months included health services, the generation of hydraulic energy by 37.9%, and the slaughter of cattle, which decreased by 2.8%.

Activities such as air transportation also increased, as did the Panama Canal tolls, which contributed 15% more.

Banana exports also rose by 33.3%, fish by 30.6%, and to a lesser extent – but also on the rise – were port activities.

Exports of copper concentrate registered a decrease with a volume of 90,086 tons produced, a lower amount than the same period of the previous year, and shrimp exports decreased by 16.9%.

Mining protests
This growth is expected to slow down at the end of the year because of the massive protests against the mining contract, whose closures caused damage to different economic sectors such as tourism, agriculture, and commerce in general.

The World Bank predicts that the year will close with growth of around 6.3% for Panama.

The International Monetary Fund updated its projection from 5% to 6% two months ago, also in context before the crisis due to the mining contract.

The eventual update to more realistic terms that include the effects of recent events on the growth projection will also be central to the amount of the State’s general budget for next year, whose figure is not yet known, with less than a month to go to close the fiscal year.