The economy of Western Visayas slowed down from 7.7 percent growth in 2012 to 4.1 percent in 2013, a press release from the National Statistical Coordination Board 6 said yesterday.

 This was largely attributed to the slump in the AHFF (Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing) sector and the slower growth of the industry and the service sectors, the press release said.

Services accounted for the largest share of the region’s economy at 57.9 percent, followed by the AHFF at 23.5 percent and the Industry at 18.6 percent in 2013. The percentage share of the Services and Industry to the total output of the region increased while AHFF’s share decreased, it said.

Services grew at a slower pace from 7.7 percent in 2012 to 5.7 percent in 2013 due to the  decelerated growth of the following: Transport, Storage and Communication from 8.2 percent to 4.5 percent; Trade from 11.7 percent to 5.5 percent and Public Administration and Defense from 5.3 percent to 2.5 percent, it added.

Other services, on the other hand, posted a growth of 9.5 percent, more than twice its previous year’s growth of 4.6 percent, NEDA said.

Financial Intermediation expanded by 5.2 percentage points from a 9.2 percent growth in 2012 to a double digit growth of 14.4 percent. Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities, however, suffered a reversal from a 6.1 percent growth in 2012 to a negative 3.6 percent in 2013, it said.

 The growth of the Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities did not offset the slump in the Ownership of Dwellings brought about by the typhoon Yolanda in the last quarter of 2013 that eradicated about 230 thousand houses in the region, NEDA said.

Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing, sank deeper to negative 3.3 percent brought about by the decrease in Agriculture and Forestry which contracted from a growth of 0.7 percent in 2012 to negative 3.1 percent in 2013. Likewise, Fishing further sank from a negative 2.6 percent to negative 4.0 percent in 2013. The hefty decrease in sugarcane, palay, livestock and fishery production pulled down the performance of the total AHFF, the press release said.
         
Industry managed to grow at a slower pace from a growth of 21.2 percent in 2012 to 9.4 percent in 2013. Manufacturing and Construction sustained their double digit growths but slower than their recorded growths a year ago. Manufacturing and Construction, the biggest contributors to the sector grew by 10.8 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively, NEDA said.
  
 Electricity, Gas and Water Supply decelerated from 9.8 percent to 4.5 percent. Mining and Quarrying suffered a reversal from a 4.2 percent growth in 2012 to a negative 5.1 percent in 2013 due to the slower growth of coal. Mining industry of the region is solely dependent to non-metallic mineral, it said.

Among the three major sectors, the Service sector was the largest contributor to the overall economic growth of Western Visayas, contributing 3.3 percentage points. Industry contributed 1.7 percentage points while the AHFF pulled down the economic performance of the region by 0.8 percentage point, NEDA said.

Despite its slow growth in 2013, Western Visayas still remained as the 5th largest contributor to the country’s total output. National Capital Region comprised the bulk of the country’s total GDP with a 36.3 percent share. It was followed by CALABARZON with a share of 17.4 percent; Central Luzon with 9 percent, Central Visayas with 6.3 percent; and Western Visayas with 4 percent share, it added.*
 

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