The reduction would be up to 3 percentage points, according to estimates by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF).
According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) of Peru, monetary poverty affected 29% of the population in 2023, which represented an increase of 1.5 percentage points (pp) compared to 2022.
This result is associated with a combination of negative shocks that affected the income of Peruvians and that, according to the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), subtracted a total of 2.7 pp from the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is resulted in negative growth of 0.6% in the year 2023, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) said today, Friday.
The shock that subtracted the most points from economic growth was the coastal El Niño (1.1 pp), followed by the social conflicts at the beginning of 2023 (0.8 pp), the loss of business confidence (0.3 pp), minor non-traditional exports (0.2 pp), droughts (0.1 pp), avian flu (0.1 pp) and lower investment by subnational governments (0.1 pp).
These negative shocks significantly affected the most vulnerable people. In particular, climate problems strongly impacted the fishing and agriculture sectors, reducing the income of fishermen, farmers and merchants during 2023. However, the different social programs developed by the State such as Vaso de Leche, Juntos, Wawa-Wasi, Comdedores Popular, among others, allowed these negative effects to be mitigated, said the MEF.
The growth projection for the year 2024 is 3.1%. In addition to the good prospects for mineral prices, good performance is expected for fishing and manufacturing this year, the ministry said.
On the fishing side, only with the progress of the first fishing season and thanks to timely management, this sector would grow 85% compared to 2023. In the case of manufacturing, it is expected to grow 4.2% thanks to the increase in exports and the recovery of domestic demand, generating employment for more than 1.2 million people nationwide. Likewise, the implementation of the US$ 125.8 million MYPeru National Purchasing Program will generate greater employment and sales, the institution detailed.
According to the MEF, systematic poverty reduction is not possible without sustainable economic growth. Thus, given the growth projection of 3.1% for the year 2024, the Ministry of Economy and Finance expects poverty to be reduced between 2 and 3 percentage points.
