Rwanda to grow 7-8 pct in 2009: central bank

By Hereward Holland

KIGALI (Reuters) - Rwanda's economy should grow by 7-8 percent this year, after expanding by 11.2 percent in 2008, the fastest pace in five years, the country's central bank governor said on Wednesday.

Francois Kanimba, governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, said the economy had been bolstered by a booming agricultural sector, which constitutes around 38 percent of the economy, and that public investment would help maintain growth momentum.

"My expectation is perhaps we aren't going to achieve double digit growth again like last year," Kanimba told Reuters in a telephone interview. "The growth rate we expect, based on our medium-term strategy ... is in the range of 7-8 percent."

The Rwandan economy is being rebuilt following the 1994 genocide of 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus. The government has focused on restructuring the tea and coffee sectors and financial system, while investing in energy, transport and telecommunications infrastructure.

Favourable weather and a "green revolution" in farming practices helped the sector grow 15 percent last year, up from 0.7 percent in 2007, according to a central bank report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The government has been helping the agricultural sector by giving out new fertilisers and seeds, while consolidating plots to make the use of the country's fertile land more intensive.

Kanimba said the global slowdown may hit export earnings in 2009, after huge increases last year. In 2008, tea earnings rose 26.9 percent, coffee climbed 32 percent, minerals were up 34.8 percent and tourism earnings leapt 55.1 percent.

"They will continue to grow, perhaps not at the same speed like last year, but I don't expect a very big recession in these industries," the central bank governor said.