OREANDA-NEWS. March 21, 2013.  This was briefed by the Acting Premier to journalists as he commented on statistics indicated that GDP decreased 0.8% in 2012 and answered the question whether the forecast on GDP growing by 4% in 2013 is feasible.

Vladimir Filat admitted it would not be easy to achieve such a growth in GDP and proposed to return to this question later. According to him, the GDP forecast for 2013 is to be revised. According to the Premier, the GDP target of 4% was going to be achieved thanks to the progress in various branches of the national economy, attraction of new investments and improvement of fiscal administration. IMF also projected the 4% growth in GDP in 2013 thanks to recovery in the agriculture and the economic growth in EU and CIS.

World Bank experts predicted that GDP had shown the zero growth in 2012, Moldova would see the 3.1% increase in GDP in 2013, the 4% and the 5% increases in 2014 and in 2015 respectively. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development downgraded the GDP growth in Moldova expected in 2013 from 3.5% to 3%, and projected that in 2012 GDP had increased by 0% instead of 1% expected. According to official projections by the government of Moldova and IMF in 2012 GDP was expected to have grown by 0.3% instead of 3% and 1% forecasted before. However, as statistics showed, in 2012 GDP of Moldova made up 87 bln. 847 mln. leis (\\$7.14 bln.), 0.8% down as compared with 2011.

The decline was determined by the considerable decrease in the gross value added in agriculture - which plays a very important role in the GDP formation - caused by the severe summer drought. Besides, the decline in GDP was told on by the slowdown in economies of the EU on the background of a new wave of the financial and economic recession. Moreover, the GDP indicators for 2012 seemed to be worse because by updated information of the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2011 GDP grew 6.8% instead of 6.4% declared. Thus, another, higher comparative base appeared.

That is why statistics on production in industry, agriculture and other branches of the national economy for 2012 seemed to be even worse as compared with those for 2011 since in monetary terms they remained the same as they had been. If there had been no updated statistics on GDP in 2011, it would have been possible to reach the 0.3% growth in GDP in 2012 even despite the drought and the 0.2% decline registered following 9 months of 2012.