Qatar’s economy recovers from boycott, registers a growth spurt of 5.5% year-on-year
The illegal siege of Qatar does not seem to have made much of an impact on Qatar as the country’s economy has weathered the storm.
In addition to recovering from the illegal siege, the country has also returned to growing at one of the fastest rates in the region, according to figures released by the statistics ministry, reported Reuters.
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adjusted for inflation, rose 1.9% from a year earlier in the third quarter of 2017, accelerating from a revised growth rate of just 0.3% in the second quarter, which was the slowest expansion since the 2009-2010 global financial crisis.
A robust expansion in both hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons helped Qatar economy register 5.5% surge year-on-year in real terms, reported Gulf Times.
The country’s GDP grew 1.9% mainly on the back of non-hydrocarbons, particularly construction, manufacturing and financial sectors.
Qatar’s growth trajectory indicates the blockade haven’t altered the nation’s strong fundamentals.
Meanwhile, nominal GDP saw a growth of 7.4% in the third quarter on annual basis, reaching QR151.7bn. Compared with the second quarter, nominal GDP in the third quarter grew 3.9%, according to Qatar Tribune.
The blockading nations had earlier disrupted Doha’s imports and triggered the withdrawal of billions of dollars of deposits from Qatari banks. Although the boycott hurt Qatar’s second-quarter GDP, the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas responded by developing new trade routes, depositing state money in its banks and helping local firms to develop domestic output of some key goods.
The third-quarter figures show this strategy is proving successful.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector shot up 9.6% as Qatar ramped up production of foods such as milk, for which it imported thousands of cows. The manufacturing sector grew 5.1%.
