Cuba's trade deficit widened 21 percent last year to $6.335 billion but the export of its services like medical treatments curbed the deficit in its current account balance of payments to $239.7 million, official statistics showed on Friday.
The data, posted on the Web site of the National Statistics Office, showed the current account deficit in 2006 reversed a $140.2 million surplus in 2005, a year when the trade deficit was a smaller $5.234.6 billion. The data did not provide a reason for the current account going into deficit.
But it appeared largely due to the widening trade deficit. Service exports rose, according to the data. Also favouring Cuban accounts there was a decline in the net outflow in the "income" category which includes profit repatriation by foreign companies.
The current account balance of payments is considered the broadest measure of any country's external transactions. It includes trade, services like tourism and financial transfers like profit repatriation and interest payments.
The government had previously reported a current account surplus of $120 million for 2004, the first such surplus after decades of annual current account deficits.
In the data posted on its Web site on Friday, the Statistics Office said 2006 exports were $2.904.8 billion and imports $9.503 billion, compared with exports of $2.159 billion and imports of $7.604 billion in 2005. In the same trade category, goods acquired in ports and airports rose to $243 million in 2006 from $210.2 million.
Cuba reported imports of $5.5 billion in 2004 and income from non-tourism services, such as sending doctors overseas, of around $1.5 billion. That compares with imports that are expected to top $10 billion this year and expected non-tourism service revenues of more than $5 billion. Cuba signed an agreement with oil producer Venezuela in late 2004 bartering and selling services for oil and also began receiving more credit from China.
Cuba includes tourism and related activities, some communications, the export of medical and other professional services and the training of some foreigners in Cuba, such as Chinese Spanish-language students, as service revenues.
Comments
Comments are closed.