site.bta2018 GDP Growth at 3.1 Per Cent

May 7 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
growth in 2018 was 3.1 per cent, Assoc. Prof. Victor Yotsov of
the Institute for Economic Studies with the Bulgarian Academy of
 Sciences (BAS) said at a BTA-hosted briefing on Monday. Yotsov
presented BAS' annual report on Bulgaria's economic development
and policies in 2019 which focuses on structural imbalances and
the risks they spell for the economy.

Yotsov said that although the 3.1 per cent growth remains above
the average for the EU, it is one of the lowest growths reported
 by the newer EU member states.

The economist noted that  keeping the current pace of growth
means that catching up with the per capita average income in the
 EU "is far in the future". "The growth pace we have is
extremely insufficient," Yotsov said. The forecast is that the
2019 GDP growth will slow down a bit.

Exports in 2018 were close to their 2017 levels. Imports in 2018
  increased 3.7 per cent compared to 2017. Nedyalko Nestorov of
the team who prepared the report said that Bulgaria buys goods
mainly from Germany, Russia, China, Italy and Turkey. Imports
from these five countries account for 42 per cent of the total
imports.

The Bulgarians mostly need consumer goods. The Bulgarian
industry falls short of meeting this demand, so that this
country imports consumer goods. Bulgaria mainly exports
commodities with low added value, such as raw materials,
Nestorov said.

One of the recommendations of the report says that Bulgaria
should attain a long-term and lasting economic growth of at
least five per cent per year. RY/ZH

/СН/