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• Caribbean
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• Havana
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• Politics and Government
• 07 / 09 / 2008

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Rodriguez made the announcement on Monday as he addressed the Cuban Parliament’s Economic Affairs Committee about the state of the nation’s economy and the results of a comprehensive study on consumer expenditure and others related to commercial retail products to avoid an internal financial imbalance, Granma daily reported.

Reporting about growth indicators in different economic sectors in comparison to last year, the minister said that Agriculture grew 7.5 percent; Industry, 6.2 percent; Tourism, between 14 and 15 percent; and strong growth was recorded in construction and energy investment. Rodriguez said that salary averages increased by 4.6 percent while productivity only rose by 3.5 percent.

During the meeting, the committee approved the final report of the 2007 budget, which showed a fiscal deficit of 3.2 percent of the GDP. The committee also received an explanation on the implementation of this year’s budget through May from the first vice minister of Finance and Prices, Alejandro Gil.

Antonio Carricarte, first vice minister of Foreign Commerce, spoke to the legislators on the import replacement  program through May. He explained that of the 718 products involved, 660 have contracts signed. Meanwhile, he reported progress in the implementation of financing mechanisms by way of the centralized account and commercial credits, as well as projects via foreign investment.

(Cuban News Agency)