(Adds detail, quote)
MEXICO CITY, May 5 (Reuters) - The flu outbreak in Mexico could knock as much as half a percentage point off the country's economic growth this year, the government said on Tuesday, as it promised tax relief and emergency financing to affected companies.
Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said the blow to the economy from the flu outbreak would shave between 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points off Mexico's gross domestic product in 2009, deepening a recession caused by the downturn in the United States, Mexico's top trading partner.
Carstens said the government could lose out on 10 billion pesos ($752 million) in taxes from the disruption caused by the epidemic, which prompted a partial five-day economic shutdown that ran until Tuesday.
The government will offer measures such as tax relief to affected companies, costing the country a total of 17.4 billion pesos ($1.3 billion), as well as more than 10 billion pesos in emergency financing from Mexican development banks.
"We think these are adequate measures due to the emergency, given that its duration has been short and it hasn't been that deep of an impact," Carstens said.
Mexico's government said the country is over the worst of the H1N1 flu epidemic and that businesses in the country should be up and running again from Wednesday.
Economists expect Mexico's economy to shrink about 4 percent this year because of a collapse in demand for Mexican exports in the United States.
The tourism sector could see a big dent from the flu crisis, which could scare away foreign visitors for weeks to come. ($1=13.30 pesos) (Reporting by Luis Rojas Mena and Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)