Ruling Party Confident in Bulgaria's 2011 3.6% GDP Growth

MP Menda Stoyanova, head of the budget and finance committee of the Bulgarian Parliament, has expressed confidence that the 3.6% GDP growth project for 2011 will be realized.

"Interestingly, all international agencies forecast the same growth for Bulgaria. Even the IMF, which is very conservative in its forecasts, predicts a 2.5% growth. That is not 3.5% but is still a very serious growth," Stoyanova told the Bulgarian National Radio on Sunday.

She is certain that Bulgaria's economic growth in 2011 will be fueled primarily through exporting industries.

Stoyanova further expressed confidence that the increased revenues the government expects in 2011 will be used to fill in the budget deficit gap in order to bring it down from 4.8% to 2.5%.

"The entire growth of revenue in the 2011 state budget will be used to cover the deficit from 4.8% to 2.5%, which will be a very good figure," Stoyanova stated.

In June, the center-right cabinet revised the state budget increasing its 2010 target for deficit to 4.8% of GDP on a cash basis and 3.9% of GDP under EU accounting rules, far wider than initial estimates.

Final Eurostat data released recently showed that in 2009, Bulgaria's budget deficit actually was 4.7%.