BusinessWorld
April 30, 2021 | 12:33 am
PHILIPPINE STAR/ EDD GUMBAN
THE country’s balance of payments (BoP) stood at a deficit for the third straight month in March as the National Government continued to pay its dollar obligations, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The BoP posted a deficit of $73 million in March, reversing the $448-million surplus a year earlier, based on data released by the central bank on Thursday. It was, however, 96% smaller than the $2.019-billion deficit recorded in February.
“The BoP deficit in March 2021 reflected outflows arising mainly from the National Government’s net withdrawal of its foreign currency deposits with the BSP, which were largely used for debt servicing,” the BSP said.
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SunStar File DUE to the Covid-19 pandemic, the economic performance of Central Visayas plunged by 9.9 percent in 2020.
This is in stark contrast to the 6.2 percent growth recorded in the region in 2019, whose economic value stood at P1.254 trillion.
In 2020, the value of the region’s economic performance stood at P1.129 trillion, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority on Thursday, April 29, 2021.
PSA 7 Director Ariel Florendo said the drop in the performance of industries by five percent and services by 5.2 percent contributed heavily to the overall 9.9 percent decline. Agriculture, however, grew 0.3 percent.
Central Visayas’ economic performance, according to PSA 7, was worse than the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which was at negative 9.5 percent, the first annual contraction since 1998, the year after the Asian financial crisis erupted.
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Drone shot by Mark Perandos
+ April 29, 2021 THE economy of Davao Region contracted by 7.6 percent in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but still remains to be the fifth biggest economy in the country, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda)-Davao Director Maria Lourdes Lim said this is better than the negative 9.6 percent growth rate of the country. Despite the pandemic, Davao Region remained as the biggest economy in Mindanao with a value of P832 billion, Lim said.
PSA-Davao Region Director Ruben Abaro said during the 2020 Economic Performance of Davao Region virtual presser on Thursday, April 29, that this was measured by the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and Gross Regional Domestic Expenditure (GRDE).
April 29, 2021 THE top official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas has lauded farmers and stakeholders as the region posted the highest annual growth in agriculture output for 2020.
DA-Western Visayas Regional Director Remelyn Recoter, in her Facebook post, said the region s agricultural production posted a growth rate of 4.7 percent in 2020 based on the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Recoter said the regional line agency would like to express its sincerest appreciation to all the stakeholders in the region especially the farmers, fishers and animal raisers. They gave their best efforts in spite of the threat of the ongoing pandemic, she said, adding that they continued to cultivate their farms, raise animals, and culture and caught fishes to contribute to ensuring food security in the region and the country as a whole.
BusinessWorld
April 30, 2021 | 12:32 am
By
Researcher
THE economy of the National Capital Region (NCR), alongside those of Calabarzon and Central Luzon, suffered double-digit contraction that weighed heavily on the countryâs output last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday.
All 17 regions posted declines, reflecting the Philippine economyâs downward revised record 9.6% drop last year amid strict lockdowns put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Preliminary results from the PSA 2020 Regional Accounts showed NCR shrank by 10.1% last year from the 7% growth recorded in 2019.
Other regions that posted double-digit declines were Calabarzon at 10.5% and Central Luzon with the worst decline in all regions posted 13.9%. The previous annual gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of these regions were recorded at 4.6% growth and 5.9% expansion, respectively.