INFLATION IN YUGOSLAVIA IN 2002 ABOUT 19.2 PERCENT

BELGRADE, Dec 27 (Hina) - In the year 2002, inflation in Yugoslavia will reach 19.2 percent, while the cost of living has increased by 16.5 percent in relation to 2001, the Federal Bureau of Statistics (SZS) reported. #L# In comparison to 2001, this year's GDP will be four percent higher, with the simultaneous growth of industrial production by two percent and a five-percent drop in agricultural production, SZS assistant director Miroslav Jankovic said at Friday's news conference. Although the country's GDP has been rising for three consecutive years, experts estimate that it is currently at half the level it was in 1990. The average number of employees in companies of all profiles is about 1.8 million, which is a 4.3 percent decrease in comparison to 2001, or 11.7 percent in relation to 1998. Foreign trade will total 8.3 billion dollars, the same source says, which is by 1.5 percent higher than last year, while the deficit will be about 3.8 billion dollars, or USD900 million more than in 2001. Exports will cover about 36.7 percent of imports, which is less than the previous year, when the export-import ratio was 39.3 percent. (hina) lml