Economy to grow 6.8% in 2022 ‘defeating the pessimists’
The economy minister António Costa Silva also said that in 2022 exports would reach 50% of GDP.
The Portuguese economy will grow 6.8% in 2022, above the 6.5% estimated in the 2023 state budget (OE2023), the country’s finance minister said on Friday, noting that the figure defeats all pessimists.
“Portugal will end 2022 with growth [of the economy] of around 6.8%,” said Fernando Medina, stressing that, with this result, the economy has shown “resilience” and “defeated all pessimism” and that it is necessary to go back “35 years” to find similar growth.
The ministers of economy, António Costa Silva, finance, Fernando Medina, and social security, Ana Mendes Godinho, are today holding a joint press conference at the ministry of economy, in Lisbon, to take stock of the activity of the areas under these ministries and prospects for 2023.
The growth of the economy in 2022 was also referred to by António Costa Silva who classified it as “exemplary” taking into account the external context and the rise in energy prices.
It should be noted that in the draft state budget for 2022 the government projected that the economy would grow this year by 4.9%, having revised upwards its forecast to 6.5% when it presented the draft 2023 state budget.
The economy minister also said that in 2022 exports would reach 50% of GDP.
Fernando Medina also said – in line with what the prime minister said in an interview with ‘Visão’ news magazine – that the deficit will be below 1.5% in 2022.
“We will have a deficit that will be below 1.5% of GDP, meeting our goal of keeping it below 1.9%, which was the goal initially set,” he said, reiterating that in 2022 Portugal will leave the ranking of European countries with the highest public debt ratio.
Asked whether the need to strengthen support for the economy may require the presentation of a rectifying budget, Fernando Medina dismissed that scenario, stressing that the 2023 state budget already incorporates several measures to respond to the current context of high prices, but promising that as it has done, the government will continue to monitor developments.
“In 2023 we will do the same as in 2022: a permanent monitoring of the economy, the evolution of prices and taking the measures that can most quickly reach families and businesses,” he said.
