(Business in Cameroon) - On April 13, the BEAC Monetary Policy committee revised its 2021 growth forecast for CEMAC countries from 2.8% to 1.9%. The new projection is lower than the 3% growth forecasted in October 2020 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the CEMAC region.
The monetary policy committee's cautious outlook is due to the new waves of the coronavirus and the multiplication of COVID-19 mutants. The BEAC nevertheless thinks that this year, the pandemic will have a lesser impact on the sub-regional economy than it did in 2020. In 2020, the pandemic forced the region into recession (-2.4% growth) but this year, the region’s economy is forecasted to grow by 4% year-on-year.
According to the BEAC, such economic recovery will be due to the dynamism in various sectors like agriculture, industrial activities, construction, and trade services as well as a rise in investments (thanks to the structural reforms initiated by governments).
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