Economy
While the region’s economy is predominantly agri-based, it is now developing into a center for agro-industrial business, trade and tourism. Its competitive advantage is in agri-industry as its products, papayas, mangoes, bananas, pineapples, fresh asparagus, flowers, and fish products are exported internationally. The region can be a vital link to markets in other parts of Mindanao, Brunei Darussalam and parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. There is also a growing call center sector in the region, mostly centered in Davao City.
There is a gradual shift to industrialization as shown with industry’s growth rate of 8.1% in 1996. Other economic activities are mining, fishery, forestry and agriculture. Due to the region's rise as the main commercial and industrial hub of Mindanao, many of its workers are oriented to urban services such as putting small-scale businesses and working in commercial industries in thriving urban areas like Davao City, Tagum City, and Digos City. Both private and foreign investors and businessmen are putting up huge business centers in the region, fueling up its commercial growth rate.
The Region is also venturing to online business like outsourcing. They also open their official Buy and Sell Online, only for Davao Region, the Davao Eagle derived from the famous Philippine Eagle, which can only be seen in Davao.
Its regional center, Davao City, has an annual income of about P4.13 billion in 2010, without introducing new taxes, making it as the most economically rich city both in Mindanao and Visayas and also outside Metro Manila after Makati(P10.1 billion), Quezon City(P9.4 billion), Manila(P7.3 billion), and Pasig(P5.3 billion). The city has also a gross domestic product (GDP) of Php 21,914,645,328, or Php 15,696 per capita based on regional survey as of year 2009.
Read more about this topic: Davao Region
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