2023 1st quarter GDP lowest in 7 quarters
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 11 May) – The country’s gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2023 stood at 6.4 percent, or 1.9 percent lower than the 8.4 percent reported for the same period last year, according to a report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.
PSA said the recent figure was the lowest GDP after seven quarters when the country showed signs of recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the second quarter of 2021.
It said the major sectors largely contributing to the first quarter growth were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles at 7.0 percent, financial and insurance activities at 8.8 percent, and other services at 36.5 percent.
The PSA said agriculture, forestry, and fishing posted a 2.2-percent growth, industry 3.9 percent, and services 8.4 percent.
For 2022, the country reported a 7.57 percent GDP.
Davao Region was hailed as the third fastest regional economy after it posted an 8.1-percent gross regional domestic product (GRDP), only behind Western Visayas and Cordillera Administrative Region with GRDPs of 9.3 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.
The region’s GRDP for 2022 was also the highest among the regions in Mindanao and the only one that remained above the national average.
Zamboanga Peninsula recorded a GRDP of 7.5 percent, Northern Mindanao 7.16 percent, Soccsksargen 6.59 percent, Caraga 5.9 percent, and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao 6.61 percent.
In her statement on the 2022 Economic Performance of Davao Region, Maria Lourdes Lim, director of the National Economic Development Authority-Davao, said that 2022 was a year of “robust growth and resilience” for this region as it exhibited strong economic fundamentals, buoyed by a dynamic private sector, and reinforced by healthy labor market.
She added the region has fully regained its economic strength.
She said the growth rate of 8.1 percent was driven by the accelerated growth of the services sector, agriculture, forestry, and fishing.
“The better performance of the economy is indicative of the efforts of both the government and the private sector to restore the regional economy’s high-growth trajectory by boosting economic activity and production and helping businesses grow, while creating more and better-quality jobs, improving infrastructure, and accelerating poverty reduction,” she said.
She also attributed the growth to the resumption of face-to-face classes and increased tourism activities, which reflect an improvement in consumer and investor confidence in Davao Region.
She said the region “remained as the biggest regional economy in Mindanao in 2022 contributing 4.8% to overall national output.”
She said she is confident the region would sustain its position as the “prime economic hub in Southern Philippines, and poised to further increase its contribution to the country’s GDP in the coming years, as we position Davao Region as the international logistics hub in Mindanao.” (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)
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