Davao City-The island of Mindanao registered a 7.2 percent economic growth from 2006 to 2007.
An assessment by the Mindanao Economic and Development Council (Medco) gave these figures, saying that a similar acceleration is expected in 2008.
The Caraga region was the best performer as its economy propelled with the entry of mining investors. Its economy soared to an 8.6 percent growth in 2007 from 6.0 percent in 2006. A hefty 76.1 percent growth was posted in mining and quarrying as a result of the continuing increase in nickel production.
Construction in the region also accelerated by 15.2 percent in 2007 from 7.0 percent in 2006. The growth of electricity and water decelerated from 0.9 percent to 0.5 percent. However, a downtrend was reported in Caraga’s manufacturing sector with a reversal from a positive 6.4 percent growth in 2006 to negative 4.6 percent in 2007.
On the other hand, the agriculture, fishery and forestry (AFF) sector in Mindanao contributed 34.5 percent to the total output of the country’s AFF sector, the second highest share among the island groups, next to Luzon.
The AFF in Caraga accounted for 35.2 percent of the regional economy, increasing by 3.8 percent last year from a negative growth of 1.4 percent. This was brought about by a 7.3 percent increase in the agriculture and fishery subsector in 2007, compared to a 1.2 percent increase in 2006.
The other driver of the Mindanao economy was the industry sector, which exhibited a very impressive double-digit growth of 10.3 percent in 2007 from 7.1 percent in 2006. This comprised 15.3 percent of the total gross value added (GVA) of the industry sector in 2007. Mindanao contributed 1.5 percentage points to the country’s 7.1 percent growth of the sector.
The Medco report also indicated that, despite the upward trend in growth, Mindanao’s share in the country’s total Growth Domestic Product (GDP) remained fixed at 17.7 percent over the period 2005 to 2007.
Northern Mindanao and the Davao region registered minimal changes in their shares, from 4.8 percent in 2005 to 4.9 percent in 2007, and from 4.6 to 4.5 percent, respectively. The shares of the other four Mindanao regions also remain unchanged. (PIA)
