Americas’ Economic Winner Is Landlocked Nation Helped by Farming

(Bloomberg) -- Paraguay has so far outperformed all main American nations during the pandemic with an economic contraction that has been cushioned by strong results in the agriculture and construction sectors.

The landlocked South American nation recorded a 6.5% decline in gross domestic product in the second quarter from a year ago, the central bank reported on Friday. Farming expanded 17.5% while construction grew 9% in the same period.

“The results have surprised to the upside,” Central Bank Chief Economist Miguel Mora said in a live webcast on Friday, adding that there’s upside bias to the bank’s forecast for a 3.5% contraction this year.

Policy makers are expected to update their 2020 outlook October 28.

The pandemic has triggered deep recessions across the globe, with the International Monetary Fund warning Latin America faces a lost decade. Paraguay’s decision to adopt a strict lockdown and close its borders early in the pandemic helped it weather the crisis better than many other countries. It has the third lowest mortality and infection rates from Covid-19 in South America, after Guyana and Uruguay, according to the World Health Organization.

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Fiscal and monetary stimulus have also helped shield Paraguay’s economy from the worst of the pandemic, Mora said.

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