Kenya's Finance Minister Amos Kimunya says violence following the country's recent disputed election may have cost the Kenyan economy up to $1 billion.

Opposition supporters hold machetes and crude weapons next to a poster of opposition leader Raila Odinga during riots in the Mathare slum in Nairobi, Kenya, 2 Jan 2008

Kimunya says tourism, agriculture, and other sectors were affected by the unrest, but he says the economy is resilient and will recover soon.

He also projected a strong seven percent growth rate for the country this year.

Kenya is East Africa's largest economy.  The Bloomberg financial news service reports Kenya received more than one million tourists in the first nine months of 2007 and is the largest exporter of black tea in the world.