The economy of Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) grew by 7.3 percent in 2018, slower than the 12.2 percent growth in 2017.

 

Industry accounted for more than half of the region’s economy with 53.0 percent share, followed by Services with 39.7 percent and Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry & Fishing (AHFF) with 7.3 percent. The shares of Industry and Services to the total output of the region increased while the share of AHFF decreased.

 

Industry grew by 9.2 percent in 2018, slower than the 18.8 percent growth in the previous year. Manufacturing, remained as the top contributor to growth as it grew by 9.4 percent, albeit slower than 19.6 percent growth recorded in 2017. Construction also slowed down but managed to grow by 15.7 percent in 2018. Electricity, Gas and Water Supply likewise decelerated to 4.3 percent growth from 5.7 percent in 2017. On the other hand, Mining and Quarrying declined by 15.0 percent during the period.

 

Meanwhile, Services accelerated to 7.5 percent in 2018 as compared with the 6.1 percent growth in the previous year. Sub-industries that grew faster include: Public Administration & Defense, 13.2 percent; Other Services, 9.5 percent; and Transportation, Storage & Communication, 6.8 percent. Meanwhile, the rest of the sub-industries also grew but at a slower rate as compared with the previous year: Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities, 4.5 percent; Trade and Repair of Motor Vehicles, Motorcycles, Personal and Household Goods, 5.8 percent; and Financial Intermediation, 7.6 percent.

 

AHFF contracted by 5.3 percent as compared with the 5.1 percent growth in 2017. The contraction was mainly due to the decline in Agriculture and Forestry by 5.5 percent.

 

Industry contributed the most to the region’s overall growth rate with 4.8 percentage points, followed by Services with 2.9 percentage points. Meanwhile, AHFF pulled down the growth by 0.4 percentage point.