May 13 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's economic output is expected to contract 8.0% this year due to the coronavirus crisis, before growing by 10.5% in 2021, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Wednesday.
The EBRD made the forecast in its latest Regional Economic Prospects report, reversing the previous projection for a 2.6% economic growth in 2020 it made in November.
"The [Montenegrin] economy is likely to suffer severely from the coronavirus outbreak, because of the expected impact on the tourist season, as tourists from the main origin countries may not be able to travel (around 80% of tourist stays are normally between June and September)," the EBRD explained.
Montenegro's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 3.5% in 2019, from 5.1% in 2018, primarily due to large investment projects approaching completion, such as the Bar-Boljare highway, or being completed (powerlink to Italy), the EBRD said.
The GDP of the EBRD's region of Central Europe and the Baltic States, which comprises Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, is seen contracting 4.3% in 2020 before expanding 4.5% in 2021. Back in November, the EBRD forecast that the region's economy will grow by 3.2% this year.