The Lao government is eager to achieve modernization and industrialization by enacting changes to the economic structure of the nation, with an increase in the share of the industrial and service sectors and a decrease in the participation of the agricultural sector.
Lao national TV quoted Lao Minister of Planning and Investment Khamjane Vongphosy as saying on Monday that the slower expansion of the industry and service sectors has prevented Laos’s economic structure from changing as expected during the previous few years.
Speaking during the ninth legislative of the National Assembly’s sixth ordinary session, Khamjane blamed the COVID-19 epidemic for the decline in the growth of the industry and service sectors.
The government set aims that would allow agriculture and forestry to contribute 15.3 percent of GDP, industry 33.3 percent, services 41.3 percent, and taxes and tariffs the remaining portion. These targets were set for the period ending in 2025.
The agriculture sector rose by 3.4 percent over the last nine months of 2023, accounting for 17.3 percent of the GDP. Over the last nine months of 2023, the industry sector grew by 3.5 percent, contributing 34.5 percent of the GDP.
Over the period under review, the service sector expanded by 5.6%, accounting for 37.2% of the GDP.
There is a correlation between the decrease in international tourism to Laos and the slower expansion of the service industry. The report also states that the industry and service sectors have been negatively impacted by the high cost of production and decrease in energy output as a result of natural catastrophes that have affected the production of several hydropower plants.