Bauc admits to previous GDP growth forecast being 'very unrealistic'

Finance Minister Jaroslaw Bauc has painted a gloomy picture of Poland's economic growth potential after figures showed that the economy recorded its slowest growth for two years. In an interview with Reuters, Bauc said he expects growth to slow to between 0.7% and 1.1% in the second quarter of the year. His comments come after Central Statistical Office (GUS) figures showed that growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed to 2.3% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2001, from 2.4% in the fourth quarter of 2000. The Finance Minister also said his 2001 GDP growth forecast of 3.5% to 3.8% now seemed "very unrealistic". Poland's GDP has grown by at least 4% a year since 1995. With domestic demand shrinking by 1.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, there seems little possibility of the economy warming up in the near future. (Reuters, Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) P.J.