CUBA: Cuban president Fidel Castro said yesterday that the economy was growing at more than a 12.5 per cent rate, based on a local GDP gauge, the latest evidence the country is emerging from the crisis that followed the Soviet Union's collapse.
"The economy grew during the first quarter at a faster rate than the 11.8 per cent in 2005 and is now advancing at more than a 12.5 per cent rate," Mr Castro said during a more than four-hour May Day speech.
Cuba reported 5 per cent growth in 2004, according to its own gauge of economic output, which it calls the socially sustainable gross domestic product.
The gauge, yet to be accepted by any international organisation, includes the estimated market value of free social services and subsidised goods and services to Cubans and massive medical and other services exported mainly to Venezuela.
Mr Castro said the economy's rapid development was based on a boom in service exports and health tourism, which involves providing health services to visiting foreigners.
Cuba's ally, Venezuela, began paying the Caribbean island in 2005 for the more than 30,000 doctors and other professionals working in the South American country and for tens of thousands of eye and other operations Cuban hospitals provide Venezuelans.
Cuban officials have said service exports, health services provided to foreigners in Cuba and pharmaceutical exports earned a similar amount as tourism and related services in 2005, or around €1.8 billion.
Venezuela, the world's fifth oil exporter, also supplies Cuba with at least 90,000 barrels of petroleum products per day on preferential terms and the two countries have a free trade agreement.
Mr Castro said internal commerce was up 30 per cent compared with the same period in 2005, due largely to the sale at cost on credit of Chinese appliances. - (Reuters)