In his interview on Monday with four radio stations, Prime Minister Ali Larayedh noted that the growth rate recorded during the first quarter of the year was 2.7%.
Larayedh said the growth rate for the second quarter has not been provided yet by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), assuring, however, that it will be better than the first quarter.
The prime minister also said he expected a growth rate equal to or greater than 3% over the year 2013.
He deemed economic indicators for the first and second quarter of this year good, despite the instability in Tunisia and the crisis in Europe. According to him, tourism revenues increased by 0.2%, manufacturing industries went up by 3.1% and chemical industries grew 6.3%.
However, the agricultural sector posted a decline of 1.6%. Cereal production fell by 10 million quintals.
The decline also affected the mining sector, which saw its production fall by 30% compared to previous years.
