Cuban investment and freight transportation fell significantly through June as the island grappled with a two-year old financial crisis and recession, according to Reuters, quoting government reports released Sep. 7. Cuba’s Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas said all investment, in foreign currency and local pesos, fell 14.7% from January through June and freight traffic 12.2%, compared with the same period in 2009.

Investment was reported down across the board, from construction to the purchase of machinery and agricultural inputs. Investment fell just over 15% in 2009 and freight transportation 5%. Cuba does not release overall performance data until the end of the year, but the statistics office had reported earlier that manufacturing stagnated and food production fell 7.5% through June.

Local economists say import-dependent Cuba’s economic performance has always been tied to the level of supplies purchased abroad the previous year. With further reductions in spending in place for 2010, Cuba’s economic problems will likely continue for a while, they said.

The declines follow severe budget cuts and a reduction of more than $5 billion or 30% in imports last year as Cuba fought off the effects of the international financial crisis, hurricanes, policy errors and the long-standing U.S. trade embargo against the island. GDP growth fell from 7.3% in 2007 to 4.1% in 2008 and 1.4% last year, said the government.