The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded its annual assessment of Guyana’s economic health and found the country “weathered the impact of the global crisis” well,Jerseys NFL Cheap, by regional and global standards.However, the fund warned in its statement, continued modernization of the sugar sector and diversification of Guyana’s productive base are critical to sustaining growth.IMF Directors, in its Executive Board Assessment,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, stressed the importance for the public sugar company to implement its recovery measures and ensure that the new plant at Skeldon becomes fully operational in the near term.“Directors welcomed the authorities’ efforts to achieve sustainable long-term growth, including under the Low Carbon Development Strategy.”IMF also commended the authorities’ prudent monetary policy aimed at maintaining low inflation.The IMF consults annually with each member government. Through these contacts, known as “Article IV Consultations,” the IMF attempts to assess each country’s economic health and to forestall future financial problems.This year, the consultations ended March 17.3.3% Growth“Newly released GDP series (re-based to 2006 prices) suggest that economic activity expanded by 3.3 percent in 2009, compared to 2 percent in 2008,wholesale jerseys, largely on the back of a recovery in agriculture in the second half of the year along with continued strong gold production and robust activity in the non-tradable sector.”This help mitigated the adverse impact of global and weather shocks on output in early 2009. End-year inflation fell to 3.6 percent from 6.4 percent as at the end of 2008, reflecting the softening in world commodity prices.In 2009, the external current account deficit narrowed, and the international reserve position strengthened significantly. The current account deficit declined by 5 percent of GDP (to 8.5?percent of GDP), largely led by a reduction in imports, particularly of fuel.This, together with strong official inflows (including concessional loans and grants, and the Fund’s Special Drawing Rights allocation) and steady short-term capital inflows by commercial banks — attracted to higher domestic interest rates — helped offset a decline in Foreign Direct Investment and raised Guyana’s gross international reserves to US$623 million by end-year (over 5 months of imports).According to IMF,Jerseys Wholesale, the nominal exchange rate remained stable, and the real effective exchange rate is assessed to be broadly in equilibrium.“The impact of the crisis on the financial sector has been limited so far,Cheap NFL Jerseys Online, although expansion in private sector credit has moderated to about 6 percent in 2009 (down from nearly 22 percent in 2008), reflecting both a deceleration in private sector credit demand, as well as tighter lending standards by the banking sector.”Macroeconomic policies have remained prudent. Monetary policy tightened somewhat in 2009, supporting the decline in inflation and external stability. The fiscal deficit for the non-financial public sector declined to 3.3 percent of GDP (equivalent to 5.3 percent of old GDP) from 4.7 percent of GDP in 2008, on the back of higher-than expected revenues that supported the full execution of priority spending, including on infrastructure.Public DebtGuyana’s public debt has fallen from 93.1 percent of GDP as of end-2006 to 56.8 percent of GDP in 2009, assisted by debt relief operations and fiscal consolidation efforts.“Guyana’s outlook remains positive in the near and medium term, although some important challenges remain. Growth is expected to benefit from the global recovery, the modernization of the sugar sector and the start up of investment projects, which could spur average growth to 4-5 percent in the medium term. The current account would widen somewhat in 2010 with the uptick in domestic demand and the increase in fuel prices, but would narrow gradually over time,” IMF said.Nonetheless,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, the IMF Directors cautioned, challenges remain, particularly if the upturn in world economic activity were slower than envisaged; or if oil prices were to rise more sharply than projected. Slower progress than expected with the modernization of the sugar sector could also complicate this outlook, particularly in light of the recent phasing out of the preferential sugar prices by the EU, which will increasingly expose Guyana to world-price volatility.OutlookUpside potential is related to the full implementation of the LCDS, the eventual exploitation of Guyana’s oil reserves and the sound completion of key large public-private investment