CITY OF TABUK, Kalinga(PIA) -- Kalinga – the so-called rice granary of the Cordillera region – has recorded the tenth fastest economic growth among 82 provinces in the Philippines in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
It is the only province in the Cordillera region that made it to the list of top 10 fastest growing provinces in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), based on the results of the PSA’s Provincial Product Accounts (PPA).
Kalinga’s economy grew to P27.13 billion in 2022, from the previous year’s P24.82 billion. This translates to a 9.3 percent GDP growth, higher than the national average of 7.6 percent.
The services industry accounted for the largest share to the province’s GDP at 66.8 percent, followed by industry at 19.2 percent, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 14.1 percent.
Data showed Kalinga’s economic growth was propelled by the accommodation and food services industry as it grew 42.4 percent.
Other top contributors are other services at 29.6 percent, transportation and storage at 27 percent, and the construction industry at 24.4 percent.
All the other industries posted a positive economic growth ranging from 1.1 percent to 10.9 percent. The only exception to this uptrend was the agriculture, forestry, and fishing industry sector which contracted by 1.8 percent, according to PSA-Kalinga’s report.
Kalinga’s GDP was compiled through the PPA which was piloted in 16 regions, including 82 provinces and 17 highly urbanized cities, from November to December 2023. This did not include the National Capital Region.
“Through the PPA, the GDP of the provinces and the highly urbanized cities are compiled, which can be used by economic planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders in assessing the performance of local economies, policy formulation and monitoring, impact analyses, among others, for an evidence-based decision making,” Maribel M. Dalayday, PSA-Kalinga’s chief statistical specialist, said.
The annual compilation of the PPA is set to be institutionalized in all regions by 2025.
Meanwhile, Kalinga remains the top producer of rice as well as the biggest contributor to corn production in the Cordillera region in 2023.
PSA data showed the province contributed 112, 839.99 metric tons of palay or 34 percent of the Cordillera’s total annual production of 171, 771.45 metric tons.
The province also produced 63,660.19 metric tons of corn or 37 percent of the region’s total yield of 171,771.54 metric tons for the whole cropping period. (JDP/IOS-PIA Kalinga).
