Thursday, August 07, 2008 C. Mindanao econ grows slightly
A DECLINE in the performance of the industry and services sectors failed to bring down the overall economic growth of Central Mindanao last year, latest data from the Regional Statistical and Coordination Board (RSCB) showed.
Herlita G. Caraan, RSCB chief, said the region sustained its economy, growing, albeit insignificantly, to 6.7 percent last year from 6.6 percent in 2006.
"The 'impressive' performance of the Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (AFF) sector was offset by the decelerated growths posted by the industry and services sectors," she explained.
AFF, the biggest contributor to the region's economic output at 42 percent, continues to expand from 6.4 percent in 2006 to 7.9 percent in 2007, data showed.
Higher production of the region's palay, corn, coconut, sugarcane, banana, pineapple, mango, rubber and other crops buoyed up the sector's favorable performance, Caraan explained.
Good weather last year complemented by agricultural programs, which cover seed subsidy, soil, analysis, extension support, education and training to promote technologies in hybrid production favored crop production in the region, she added.
On the other hand, the industry sector, which accounted for 31.4 percent of the regional economy, decelerated from 8.1 percent in 2006 to 7.1 percent in 2007 due to slower growth in manufacturing despite gains posted by the other sub-sectors, the regional office reported.
Construction posted a remarkable performance of 19.9 percent in 2007 from 8.8 percent in 2006 as spending on public construction increased, it said.
Stone quarrying activities in the region propelled mining and quarrying sub-sector to a higher growth of 9.1 percent in 2007, outpacing its 4 percent growth the previous year. Electricity and water rebounded from a negative growth of 2.5 percent in 2006 to 4 percent in 2007 bolstered by increased revenues on energy distribution and expansion of services by water districts.
However, the improved performances of construction, mining and quarrying, and electricity and water were not able to offset the sluggish performance of the manufacturing sub-sector.
Manufacturing, which accounted for the biggest share of the total industry output, pulled down the overall performance of the industry sector as it registered a slower growth of 5.4 percent in 2007 from 8.7 percent in 2006 as food manufacturing grew at a slower pace, Caraan said.
Services, which comprised 26.6 percent of the region's economy, slipped down to 4.6 percent in 2007 from 5.1 percent in 2006 as all of its sub-sectors except trade and government services posted decelerated growths, data showed.
Transportation, communication and storage slowed down to 5.7 percent in 2007 from 7.1percent in 2006 largely due to decline in water transportation, Caraan said.
Meantime, the region's per capita gross regional domestic product (GRDP) increased from P11,982 in 2006 to P12,505 in 2007 or an improvement of 4.4 percent, the regional statistics office said.
GRDP means the market value of all final goods and services produced within a region in a given period and considered as the single most important indicator of the region's economic performance.
Central Mindanao covers the provinces of South and North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. (BSS)
