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Haiti Balance of Payments
Chronic trade deficits, dating back to 1965, had
contributed
to the country's current-account deficits throughout the
1980s.
Tourism receipts cushioned negative trade performance, but
not
enough to balance the current account. Many Haitians
living in
other countries sent foreign currency to their families
still
living in Haiti. These remittances continued to grow
during the
1980s; in some of these years, they equaled more than half
of the
total value of exports, and they thus partially offset
export
shortfalls.
Haiti had a negative balance of payments in the 1980s,
although surpluses in the capital account, mainly the
result of
official aid flows, helped to cover current-account
deficits for
FY 1987 and FY 1988. Electoral violence in November 1987,
however, moved some donor nations to reduce or cut off aid
flows
in 1988. Along with accelerated capital flight, this move
turned
overall accounts negative, draining foreign-exchange
reserves to
a level equal to only four weeks of imports.
Data as of December 1989
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