SOCCSKSARGEN’s Gross capital formation and Household final consumption expenditure post highest growths SOCCSKSARGEN’s Gross capital formation posted the highest growth among the expenditure items with 6.5 percent. It was followed by Household final consumption expenditure with 5.5 percent, and Government final consumption expenditure with 3.4 percent. Meanwhile, Exports of goods and services and Imports of goods and services experienced contractions of 18.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

SOCCSKSARGEN’s economy expands by 3.5 percent in 2023 The economy of SOCCSKSARGEN expanded by 3.5 percent in 2023, a slowdown from the 6.6 percent acceleration in 2022. The highest growth was recorded in Accommodation and food service activities with 17.2 percent. On the other hand, Manufacturing and Agriculture, forestry, and fishing recorded contractions of 5.9 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) XII announces the conduct of the News Conference on the 2023 Economic Performance of SOCCSKSARGEN Region on 25 April 2023 at 10:00 AM, in Grand Summit, General Santos City.

The inflation rate of South Cotabato’s bottom 30% income households decreased to 6.9 percent in March 2024 from 7.2 percent in February 2024

The headline inflation or the annual rate of change on the prices of goods and services in the market basket of South Cotabato decreased to 5.7 percent in March 2024.

The headline inflation or the annual rate of change on the prices of goods and services in the market basket in General Santos City decreased to 2.9 percent in March 2024 from last month’s inflation at 3.5 percent. This was lower than the regional level at 4.4 percent and national level at 3.7 percent. This was also lower by 3.8 percentage points from a year ago of the same month at 6.7 percent. The average inflation or the year-to-date inflation of the city was recorded at 3.1 percent.

The headline inflation in Sarangani dropped to 4.6 percent in March 2024 from 5.0 percent in February 2024. This is higher than the regional and national levels at 4.4 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. Inflation rate in March 2023 was higher at 8.7 percent. Average inflation for the first quarter of the year stood at 4.8 percent.

YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION RATES Headline inflation rate or the annual rate of change on the prices of goods and services in the market basket for all income households in SOCCSKSARGEN Region decreased to 4.4% in March 2024 from 5.0% the previous month. This is 0.7 percentage point higher than the 3.7% national headline inflation for the current month under review.

YEAR-ON-YEAR INFLATION RATES The headline inflation in Sarangani increased to 5.0 percent in February 2024 from 4.7 percent in January 2024. This is higher than the national level at 3.4 percent and same with the regional level. The inflation rate in February 2023 was higher at 9.1 percent. The inflation for the first two months of the year averaged 4.8 percent. (Table 1 and Figure 1). The acceleration in the province’s inflation rate in February 2024 was primarily due to the annual increase in the transport index at 1.3 percent from -0.9 percent inflation in January 2024. This was followed by the indices of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at -1.5 percent from -2.1 percent and food and non-alcoholic beverages at 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in January 2024. (Table 2).

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) - Sarangani Provincial Statistical Office and the Municipal Planning and Development Office – Malungon represented the Municipal CBMS Coordination Board (MCCB) headed by the Chairperson, Municipal Mayor, Hon. Atty. Maria Theresa D. Constantino, by taking a significant step towards enhancing community development through a massive information campaign throughout the Municipality for the upcoming 2024 CBMS Synchronous Implementation.