The 2008 Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Western Visayas marked the region as the 4th fastest growing region and the 4th largest contributor to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) among the 17 regions of the country. Western Visayas’ GRDP growth of 4.4% surpassed the national GDP by 0.6 percentage points in 2008. Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (AFF) shared 24.63% of the total GRDP with Agriculture and Fishery contributing 99.99% to total AFF sector.

The impressive growth of AFF was largely pushed by the good turnout of the major crops, the top contributors of which are sugarcane, corn, and palay. The performance of the major crops is attributed to both increases in volume of production and expansion in area planted and harvested in 2008.

During the year, sugarcane plantation expanded by 0.12% and volume of production increased by 19.79%. On the other hand, hectarage planted to corn also expanded by 8.78% and production increased by 11.37%. Similarly, the area planted to palay swelled by 7.41%, and volume of produce increased by 6.28%. Other agricultural crops with notable performances in 2008 included coconut, banana, cassava, and mango, in that order.

Western Visayas is the 4th largest contributor to the country’s GDP and the 4th fastest growing among the 17 regions in the country in 2008 [ Download PDF format here ]