Western Visayas has emerged as a key economic region, achieving a PHP 1.024 trillion Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2023 with a 7.2% year-on-year growth. In 2023, the region also posted PHP 63.1 billion in total exports, a 14.55% increase from the previous year contributing to 1.1% of the national total. A notable driver has been the transportation and storage sector, which surged by 16.9%, emphasizing the region’s growing logistics significance.
A Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 37.47% for ship calls in the past 5 years indicates rapid growth in maritime commerce
The growth of the logistics sector is primarily driven by substantial increases in domestic shipcalls at Iloilo, Bacolod, and Dumangas ports. Even during the pandemic years, shipcalls in Western Visayas continued to break records, demonstrating the industry’s resilience. Modernization efforts, particularly at Iloilo’s Visayas Container Terminal (VCT), including equipment upgrades and improved cargo handling, alongside supportive government policies, have encouraged more frequent and reliable regional maritime services.
Agriculture production declined by 3.7% in 2023 influenced by weather calamities and diseases
Despite economic advancements, Western Visayas’ agricultural sector contracted by -1.9% in 2022 and further declined by -3.7% in 2023 (PSA, 2023). This is primarily due to climate disruptions like El Niño which caused PHP 1.49-B in damages as of May 2024 and diseases like anthracnose – caused by various species of fungi that spread through water, wind, and infected plants – which created post-harvest losses of 19 to 20% in Guimaras and 33 to 34% in Iloilo when considering both factors (Office of Civil Defense, 2024 & International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 2020). Besides these, the Department of Agriculture has also estimated that 30% of the Philippines agricultural produce nationwide is wasted due to inefficient logistics.
PHP-billion infrastructure projects aim to slash transit times and logistics costs but more investments to address resilience and disease is needed
In response, substantial infrastructure investments are underway, notably the modernization of Iloilo’s Visayas Container Terminal (VCT) and major road projects like the Iloilo–Capiz–Aklan Expressway (ICAEx) and the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Inter-Island Link Bridge. These initiatives, valued in the billions, promise dramatically reduced transit times, lower logistics costs, and enhanced supply chain reliability and security. These, however, only address one part of the logistical issue – connectivity. Moving forward, there should also be significant investments towards infrastructure to specifically improve resilience towards natural calamities as well as more spending on better storage solutions and practices such as cold storages which can help preserve sensitive and highly perishable goods.
