by Mia A. Aznar
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
FOR the first half of the year, different industries in Central Visayas performed well, except for foreign trade.
The region’s economic situation presented by National Economic Development Authority (Neda) 7 officer-in-charge Efren Carreon showed mostly positive indicators, which he believes will help Central Visayas attain its goals for the next five years.
The Department of Tourism figures showed a 14.9 increase to 450,000 in foreign arrivals and 7.2 increase to 810,000 domestic arrivals. Air transport contributed much to the rise, with international air passengers increasing 25.3 percent and domestic
arrivals rising 16.1 percent from the first half in 2010.
Carreon said many airlines expanded their operations in the region by offering new flights both in domestic and international destinations. New connections include Busan
and Incheon in South Korea and Boracay and Puerto Princesa.
In terms of sea travel, Carreon also noted many trips as a result of additional and improved ports in different areas of Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental.
Shipping industry
Neda 7 reported the shipping industry was able to sustain recovery, although foreign shipcalls and container traffic showed slight decreases during the first half of the year.
The region saw a 10.5 percent increase in domestic shipcalls, 4.5 percent rise in disembarking passengers, 7.1 percent increase in embarking passengers and 16.4 percent rise in domestic container traffic.
But foreign shipcalls dropped one percent while foreign container traffic decreased 1.4 percent, data Neda 7 gathered from the Philippine Ports Authority and Cebu Port Authority stated.
Consistent with the drop in foreign traffic was the weakening of foreign trade.
Carreon said there was a drop of 18 percent in the value of exports. While there was a slight rise during the first two months of the year, Carreon said the export sector was unable to sustain it, with the weak economies of key American and European markets.
Exports
Imports, he said, also slowed, as export manufacturers were forced to slow their production, affecting the importation of materials needed in manufacturing.
In terms of volume, the region saw a 65 percent rise in exports and 0.8 percent rise in imports.
“The decline in export and import values despite increases in volume suggests that the bulk of products exported to and imported from othere countries were not the expensive, high-end type of products, this is consistent with the national trend, which showed a decline in exports of electronic products in the first half of 2011,” the report stated.
It also said that electronics account for the bulk of exportts in Central Visayas and are among the higher priced export products of the region.
However, Neda 7 said the investment scenario in the region is “rosy”, with more than P6.2 billion in registered projects with the Board of Investments, which is higher than the P1.13 billion registered for the same period last year. Sectors include information technology, business process outsourcing, tourism and real estate development.
The agriculture sector may have suffered losses in past years, but Carreon said the sector has seen a rebound in production, especially in sugarcane.
Although Central Visayas suffered a 17.4 percent fall in crop production for the first half of 2010, the region’s farmers managed to increase production by 11.6 percent for the same period this year.
Production of sugarcane dropped 22.8 percent last year but rose 14.2 percent this year.
Fisheries and livestock did not do as well in 2010, but still saw increases of 1.2 percent and 2.9 percent in production. Poultry rose five percent, slightly higher than the four percent last year.
Labor
Overall, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics reported a 10.4 percent rise in agricultural production, a positive figure compared with last year’s drop of 15 percent.
On the labor front, Carreon said the region had an employment rate of 93 percent, with some 199,000 unemployed.
However, he admitted that underemployment persisted.
“Underemployment remains a challenge for Central Visayas,” he said, rising constantly from 15.8 percent in January, 17.1 percent in April and 18.8 percent in July. Some 555,000, he said, are unsatisfied with their jobs and are still looking for additional sources of income.
Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 17, 2011.
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