Paraguay hits record 14.5 percent economic growth

Paraguay in 2010 reached an unprecedented 14.5 percent economic growth thanks largely to record cereal and beef exports, President Fernando Lugo said Thursday. "Paraguay today is the economic growth champion of America and the world," said the leftist president elected in 2008 and nicknamed "the bishop of the poor," to reflect his former position in the Roman Catholic Church.
"This unprecedented, 14.5-percent spurt in Paraguay's economy fills us with pride and satisfaction," Lugo said in his Christmas message to the country. The spike in economic activity was attributed mostly to record export levels of cereal, especially soybean, and beef, both sectors having benefited from excellent weather patterns throughout the year. Soybean farming in Paraguay has nearly tripled from one million hectares (2.5 million acres) in 1996 to 2.7 million hectares (6.7 million acres) this year, more than 70 percent of which is genetically modified.