Africa-Press – Seychelles. Shifts in individual and collective behaviour are critical,” the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) said in its last update about the economic development in the country.
An increase in demand for forex has been noted during the month and this is mainly due to a repayment of a debt by a private company and it is not a normal situation.
“Also the wholesale businesses as usual start importing and paying for their commodities for the end of year,” explained the deputy CBS Governor Brian Commettant.
Mr Commettant stressed on the need to be mindful of the global developments and its impact on Seychelles. “The economy remains fragile amid rising uncertainty and there is a need for careful discussion and alignment in policy direction to reflect the current economic challenges so that people are not surprised and shocked.”
Prices of local products still remain high and the deputy governor stated that the price of fish has increased by 15%, price of bread has increased by 6.4% and the price of oil has increased by 19%.
“We have seen the value of our rupee to be relatively stable compared to USD and the Euro is now lower than USD. As of August 24, 2022 our Gross International Reserves stands at US $646 million and our Net International Reserves is at US $500 million.”
CBS noted a positive performance in the tourism sector where it registered 202,541 arrivals since January bringing US $492 million in the economy from January to June this year.
During the week August 10-16 the demand for forex saw an increase of 163.5% and a supply of 71.8%. The demand for forex as at August 2022 looks like this: Wholesale and retail – 22%, Petroleum – 14%; Telecommunications – 7.9%; Manufacturing – 4.6% and Tourism – 4.3%.
The supply of forex as at August 2022 comes from: Tourism – 40%, Fisheries – 4.6%, Shipchandlers – 3.4%, Offshore – 2.3% and Professional Services – 1.8%
To promote economic growth, on the domestic level, the Enterprise Seychelles Agency (Esa) recently reopened the Seed Capital Grant Scheme. Mr Commettant also shared that “Seychelles government’s public debt has gone down by 1.7 per cent at the end of the second quarter of 2022 compared to the first quarter and also new Covid-19 cases remain relatively stable”.
Seychelles still has to be aware of what is going on on the international front. According to the latest August update from the World Bank food security, domestic food price inflation remains high around the world despite downward trend on global markets. The Ukrainian grain shipments are under way, but challenges to food security persist.
Ongoing global threat caused by contagious diseases such as Covid-19, Monkeypox, Marburg virus is still a concern.
Mr Commettant shared that China’s economy has been performing as expected and the country is still recording high number of Covid-19 cases due to an outbreak there in June 2022.
There are still geopolitical tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine as spillover effects throughout European economies persist.
Another issue affecting the world economy is the climate change implications felt across Europe.
Despite rising inflation caused by elevated commodity prices, global shipping costs are moderating and if this situation continues we expect to see a decrease in prices of commodities locally, concluded Mr Commettant.
As we near the season of festivities, we are once again being reminded to be moderate and mindful in our expenses.
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