Havana, December 20 (RHC)-- The Cuban Council of Ministers, headed by President Raul Castro, considered the Economic Plan and Budget for 2014 on Thursday.
 
According to Granma newspaper, the Council also analyzed a report on the ongoing implementation of the economic and social guidelines adopted by the 6th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party.
 
Government vice-president Adel Yzquierdo said that Cuban economy will continue to unfold as he stressed that the proposed plan for 2014 is marked by an objective focus on investment projects, that is the consideration of productive and infrastructure investment to guarantee their full implementation.
 
The economy has grown 2.7 percent this year, below the expected 3.6 percent, said Yzquierdo who noted that this was largely due to the failure to meet hard currency income figures and projections in the manufacturing and construction industries. However, if compared to the year 2012, most other economic activities have reported growth.
 
The Gross Domestic Product is expected to grow 2.2 percent, despite a predicted price fall for export goods, such as nickel and sugar while the food prices continue to increase in world markets.
 
An increase is expected to take place in what Yzquierdo described as strategic sectors, such as the sugar industry, the livestock field, and in trade, and tourism.
 
As to the drawing up of the new economic plan, President Raul Castro stressed the good work based on a thorough analysis, which has found solutions to many problems by using efficiency reserves already existing in the Cuban economy.