The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) regional office here is optimistic that Davao Region’s economy will make a rebound this year amid the global financial slowdown.
NEDA assistant regional director lawyer Bonifacio Uy said the economy is projected to recover early next year, particularly the economy of Davao Region.
Uy anchored his optimism on the impressive gain of the sub-sectors such as forestry which posted a three-digit growth rate of 125.1 percent.
The growth rate can be attributed with the harvesting of plantation species, lifting of the moratorium on logging that resulted in the granting of tree-cutting permits for Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) and IFMA holders as well as for private timber lands and integrated social forestry areas and the increasing demand for pallet boards in USA, Europe and Korea.
NEDA regional director Maria Lourdes Lim, on the other hand, said the gain in export earnings of 11 percent in the last five years is also encouraging to maintain a positive outlook this year.
Other development prospects which NEDA Davao considered in achieving this year’s growth target include among others, the growth in the investment and tourism industry as well as the development in the mining sector.
The economy of Davao Region took a nosedive in 2008 as major economic drivers markedly plummeted compared to previous year.
Based on the report of the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) Davao of the 2008 Economic Performance of Davao Region, all economic indicators significantly dropped except for ownership of dwelling and real estate (ODRE) sub-sector and government services.
The ODRE inched up from 4.5 percent in 2007 to 5.4 percent in 2008, while government services increased to 6.6 percent in 2008 from 2.4 percent the previous year.
NSCB report further showed that Agriculture, Fishery, Forestry (AFF) two- percent growth in 2007 has remained dormant in 2008.
Industry sector significantly dropped to 5.5 percent in 2008 from 11.4 percent in 2007 and the services sector also slipped to 3.5 percent growth from 5.9 percent in 2007.
The drop in the industry and service sectors resulted the Davao Region’s economy to slow down to 3.7 percent from 6.6 percent growth in 2007, Uy said.
He said the 3.7 percent growth regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2008 is two percent short of the 5.7 percent growth target. (PNA)
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