Lower mining exports hit DRC hard says IMF

“The DRC economy has been buffeted by two major shocks in recent months – the onset of the international financial crisis and the escalation of the conflict in the eastern provinces,” says Brian Ames, who headed an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in mid- December 2008. The decline in key commodity export prices (notably copper and cobalt) has taken its toll on economic activity and employment, particularly in the mining sector, while lower revenues and higher security spending have led to a deterioration of the fiscal position, a decline in international reserves, and pressures on the exchange rate, he added.