CAR economy grows by 0.7% in 2001

The Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) managed to grow by a modest 0.7 percent in 2001, despite the slowdown in industry, due to the substantial gains in agriculture, fishery and forestry (AFF). The GRDP is an aggregate measure of the final goods and services produced by the regional economy.

The AFF sector, which contributes 14.4 percent to the region's GRDP, showed a marked improvement from 0.2 percent in 2000 to 9.8 percent in 2001. The growth was fueled mainly by the significant increase in the production of palay and corn. Improved p roduction of these two major crops was credited to the continued use of certified seeds and adequate water supply from rehabilitated and newly constructed irrigation facilities. 

Industry, the dominant sector of the region's economy with a 64.1 percent share, declined b y 1.9 percent in 2001. This was due to the downturn in mining and quarrying, the slump in construction and the slower growth in manufacturing. Mining and quarrying contracted by 9.1 percent in 2001 due to the low tonnage output of gold production. Manufacturing slowed down to a 2.7 percent growth in 2001 due to the fall in exports of semiconductor products from the region's lone economic zone.

 The services sector, the second biggest contributor to CAR's economy with a 21.5 percent share, maintained its pace of 3.1 percent. Transportation, communication and storage (TCS), trade and private services posted improvements while ownership of dwellings and real estate (ODRE) and government services recorded negative growth rates.