The Growth of Russian economy last year was lower than analysts estimated, as this was the weakest expansion since 2009, due to drought and falling oil prices, according to Bloomberg.
Russia’s GDP grew by 3.4% last year, compared to 4.3% in 2011, announced the Federal Statistics Service in Moscow. Analysts estimated an advance of 3.6% and the Ministry of Economy forecast called for an increase of 3.5%.
“We need a government that is more proactive on the reform side. The central bank is doing a good job, but the government is definitely behind the curve when it comes to what needs to be done to stimulate the economy,” said Peter Westin, analyst at Moscow-based Aton Capital.
Last year Russia’s agricultural production decreased by 3.8% due to drought, compared to an advance of 16.9% in 2011. Natural resource production rose in 2012 by 0.9% compared to a growth of 2.9% in 2011, while the construction sector registered an advance of 2%, compared to 4.5% in 2011.
Thursday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia may become one of the most attractive 20 countries in the world in terms of investment. Presenting his government’s priorities until 2018 in a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev stressed that this goal is achievable by 2018 if Russia manages to double the investments compared with 2012. “We need massive investment, stable at a level of 25% of GDP by 2015,” said Dmitry Medvedev during the same government meeting, noting that one of the conditions is to improve the business climate for foreign investors as well as for the domestic businesses.
Actually this was what Vladimir Putin ordered the government after he was elected for the third time as President of Russia last May. Medvedev’s plan for the Russian economy calls for a 5% annual growth, a target that is hard to meet, at least for this year.
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