Minister: Russia’s GDP to fall by 2.9%in 2022, 0.9% in 2023

VLADIVOSTOK, Sep 6 (PRIME) -- Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will likely contract by 2.9% in 2022 and by 0.9% in 2023 because of a high base of January–March 2022, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

“The Russian economy is weathering the sanction pressure in a rather commendable way. This year we expect a GDP contraction of 2.9%, which is significantly lower than the estimates that we had in April–March,” he said.

Under the baseline scenario, the economy will fall relatively low this year and return to growth at the end of 2023 or in early 2024. Taking into account the high base of this year caused by the robust performance in January–March, the GDP should slightly fall in 2023.

“But next year will still be lower than this year statistically. We forecast a decrease of 0.9%,” he said, adding that the economy should start to expand after 2024, and the average annual growth should reach 3% after 2026.

End