GUIMARAS – This island province was the eight fastest-growing economy in the country in 2023.
This was revealed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – Guimaras Provincial Statistical Office during the 2023 Economic Performance of the Province of Guimaras, Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) Dissemination Forum yesterday morning, November 26, in Iloilo City.
Nelida B. Losare, chief statistician specialist of PSA-Guimaras, said the province recorded a 7.9 percent domestic product (GDP) growth rate or P17.42 billion in 2023. This is P1.28 billion higher than the P16.14 billion GDP growth rate in 2022.
Losare added that Guimaras’ GDP growth rate was the fourth in Western Visayas, trailing behind Iloilo City with 10.5 percent, Bacolod City (10 percent), and Aklan (9.5 percent).
The economy of the island province was driven by the services which contributed 55.2 percent share to the total provincial GDP, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing with 29 percent, and industry with 15.8 percent.
Among all provinces and highly urbanized cities in Western Visayas, the province posted the fastest growth in services with 12.4 percent growth, followed by Aklan (11.6 percent) and Iloilo City (11.4 percent).
Gov. Joaquin Carlos Rahman Nava, meanwhile, said that although the province’s services recorded a 12.4 percent growth, he still wants the agriculture sector to bounce back. The sector posted a 0.7 percent decline.
He is also optimistic that the completion of the construction of one of the biggest irrigation projects in the province could irrigate thousands of hectares of farm land and benefit farmers.
He added that the Panay-Guimaras bridge segment could be a big boost to the province’s economy.
“We can just imagine what economic benefits it will bring here in the province of Guimaras. That’s why we are in the process of positioning Guimaras as a potential logistic hub,” Gov. Nava said./PN
