"While the risk of an intensification of the pandemic has receded, other risks have become more prominent, including a sharp slowdown in advanced economies and climate-related disasters, which could weaken the recovery of tourism," said the IMF.
It added that further increases in food and fuel prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate imported inflation, widen the current account deficit, and reduce international reserve buffers.
The lender noted Belize's primary balance likely remained in surplus in fiscal year 2022 despite a cut to the country's fuel tax and the impact of Hurricane Lisa in November. A key policy priority for Belize, the IMF said, is to increase the primary balance to 2% of gross domestic product to lower public debt to below 50% of GDP by fiscal year 2028.
That will require preserving the fiscal savings achieved
in fiscal years 2021-2022 and additional fiscal consolidation,
raising expenditure on infrastructure, among other actions, the
IMF said.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Anthony Esposito)
