The economic outlook for 2013 is good, with provisional forecasts predicting growth of 6.7% or higher, compared with 8.0% in 2012. Growth will remain in the 6-8% range thanks to the vitality of the primary and tertiary sectors, which are the driving forces of the economy. The primary sector is the cornerstone of Burkina Faso’s economy, driven by food crops (11.0% of GDP), cash crops (3.5% of GDP) and livestock (11.3% of GDP). These three sub-sectors influence the secondary and tertiary sectors. The primary sector’s strong vulnerability to climatic vagaries makes the pillars of Burkina Faso’s economy fragile. Gold production – the main pillar of the secondary sector – experienced a sharp slowdown in 2012, with negative growth of 0.7% compared with strong growth of 39.4% in 2011. This downturn was caused by delays in opening the Bissa Gold mine. Growth should pick up again in 2013, with production expected to increase by at least 10.4%. Inflationary pressures will be contained at 2.2% in 2013 (down from 3.6% in 2012), and therefore below the convergence of the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA).