Agriculture: Agriculture in The Philippines

As a
newly industrialized country, the Philippines is still an economy with a large agricultural sector; however,
services have come to dominate the economy.[citation needed] Much of the industrial sector is based on processing and
assembly operations in the manufacturing of electronics and other high-tech components, usually from foreign
multinational corporations.
Filipinos who go abroad to work–-known as Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs—are a significant contributor to
the economy but are not reflected in the below sectoral discussion of the domestic economy. OFW remittances is
also credited for the Philippines' recent economic growth resulting in investment status upgrades from credit
ratings agencies such as the Fitch Group and Standard & Poor's.[100] In 1994, more than $2 billion USD worth of
remittance from Overseas Filipinos were sent to the Philippines. [101] In 2012, Filipino Americans sent 43% of all
remittances sent to the Philippines, totaling to US$10.6 billion. [102]
Agriculture[edit]
Further information: Agriculture in the Philippines
Vast sugarcane plantations in Bacolod, Western Visayas.
A rice field in Bulacan, Central Luzon.
Pineapples in a market in Laguna, Calabarzon.
Agriculture employs 30% of the Filipino workforce as of 2014. [103] Agriculture accounts for 11% of Philippines GDP
as of 2014.[104] The type of activity ranges from small subsistence farming and fishing to large commercial ventures
with significant export focus.
The Philippines is the world's largest producer of coconuts producing 19,500,000 tons in 2009. Coconut
production in the Philippines is generally concentrated in medium-sized farms. [105] The Philippines is also the
world's second largest producer of pineapples, producing 2,730,000 metric tons in 2018. [106]
General Santos City Fishing Port Complex
Rice production in the Philippines is important to the food supply in the country and economy. The Philippines is
the 8th largest rice producer in the world, accounting for 2.8% of global rice production. [107] The Philippines was
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also the world's largest rice importer in 2010.[108] Rice is the most important food crop, a staple food in most of the
country. It is produced extensively in Luzon (especially Central Luzon), Western Visayas, Southern
Mindanao and Central Mindanao.
The Philippines is one of the largest producers of sugar in the world. [109] At least 17 provinces located in eight
regions of the nation have grown sugarcane crops, of which the Negros Island Region accounts for half of the
country's total production. As of Crop Year 2012–2013, 29 mills are operational divided as follows: 13 mills in
Negros, 6 mills in Luzon, 4 mills in Panay, 3 mills in Eastern Visayas and 3 mills in Mindanao. [110] A range from
360,000 to 390,000 hectares are devoted to sugarcane production. The largest sugarcane areas are found in
the Negros Island Region, which accounts for 51% of sugarcane areas planted. This is followed
by Mindanao which accounts for 20%; Luzon by 17%; Panay by 07% and Eastern Visayas by 04%.[111]
Shipbuilding and repair[edit]

The Philippines is a major player in the global shipbuilding industry with shipyards in Subic, Cebu, General Santos
City and Batangas.[112][113] It became the fourth largest shipbuilding nation in 2010.[114][115] Subic-made cargo vessels
are now exported to countries where shipping operators are based. South Korea's Hanjin started production in
Subic in 2007 of the 20 ships ordered by German and Greek shipping operators. [116] The country's shipyards are
now building ships like bulk carriers, container ships and big passenger ferries. General Santos' shipyard is mainly
for ship repair and maintenance. [117]
Being surrounded by waters, the country has abundant natural deep-sea ports ideal for development as
production, construction and repair sites. On top of the current operating shipyards, two additional shipyards
in Misamis Oriental and Cagayan province are being expanded to support future locators. It has a vast manpower
pool of 60,000 certified welders that comprise the bulk of workers in shipbuilding.
In the ship repair sector, the Navotas complex in Metro Manila is expected to accommodate 96 vessels for repair.
[118]
Automotive[edit]
The ABS used in Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volvo cars are made in the Philippines. Toyota,
[119]
Mitsubishi, Nissan and Honda are the most prominent automakers manufacturing cars in the country.[citation
needed]
Kia and Suzuki produce small cars in the country. Isuzu also produces SUVs in the
country. Honda and Suzuki produce motorcycles in the country. A 2003 Canadian market research report
predicted that further investments in this sector were expected to grow in the following years. Toyota sells the
most vehicles in the country.[120] By 2011, China's Chery Automobile company is going to build their assembly plant
in Laguna, that will serve and export cars to other countries in the region if monthly sales would reach 1,000 units.
[121]
Automotive sales in the Philippines moved up from 165,056 units in 2011 to over 180,000 in 2012. Japan's
automotive manufacturing giant Mitsubishi Motors has announced that it will be expanding its operations in the
Philippines.[122]
Aerospace[edit]
Aerospace products in the Philippines are mainly for the export market and include manufacturing parts for aircraft
built by both Boeing and Airbus. Moog is the biggest aerospace manufacturer with base in Baguio in
the Cordillera region. The company produces aircraft actuators in their manufacturing facility.
In 2011, the total export output of aerospace products in the Philippines reached US$3 billion. [123]
Electronics[edit]
A Texas Instruments plant in Baguio has been operating for 20 years and is the largest producer of DSP chips in
the world.[124] Texas Instruments' Baguio plant produces all the chips used in Nokia cell phones and 80% of chips
used in Ericsson cell phones in the world.[125] Until 2005, Toshiba laptops were produced in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Presently the Philippine plant's focus is in the production of hard disk drives. Printer manufacturer Lexmark has a
factory in Mactan in the Cebu region. Electronics and other light industries are concentrated in Laguna, Cavite,
Batangas and other CALABARZON provinces with sizable numbers found in Southern Philippines that account for
most of the country's export.
Mining and extraction[edit]
Geothermal power station in Negros Oriental
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The country is rich in mineral and geothermal energy resources. In 2003, it produced 1931 MW of electricity from
geothermal sources (27% of total electricity production), second only to the United States, [126] and a recent
discovery of natural gas reserves in the Malampaya oil fields off the island of Palawan is already being used to
generate electricity in three gas-powered plants. Philippine gold, nickel, copper, palladium and chromite deposits
are among the largest in the world. Other important minerals include silver, coal, gypsum, and sulphur. Significant
deposits of clay, limestone, marble, silica, and phosphate exist.
About 60% of total mining production are accounted for by non-metallic minerals, which contributed substantially
to the industry's steady output growth between 1993 and 1998, with the value of production growing 58%. In 1999,
however, mineral production declined 16% to $793 million. [citation needed] Mineral exports have generally slowed since
1996. Led by copper cathodes, Philippine mineral exports amounted to $650 million in 2000, barely up from 1999
levels. Low metal prices, high production costs, lack of investment in infrastructure, and a challenge to the new
mining law have contributed to the mining industry's overall decline. [citation needed]
The industry rebounded starting in late 2004 when the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of an important
law permitting foreign ownership of Philippines mining companies. [127] However, the DENR has yet to approve the
revised Department Administrative Order (DAO) that will provide the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the
Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA), the specific part of the 1994 Mining Act that allows 100%
foreign ownership of Philippines mines.[citation needed]
Offshoring and outsourcing[edit]

Main articles: Business process outsourcing in the Philippines and Call center industry in the Philippines
A business process outsourcing office in Bacolod
In 2008, the Philippines has surpassed India as the world leader in business process outsourcing.[128][129] The

majority of the top ten BPO firms of the United States operate in the Philippines.[130] The industry generated
100,000 jobs, and total revenues were placed at $960 million for 2005. In 2012, BPO sector employment
ballooned to over 700,000 people and is contributing to a growing middle class. BPO facilities are concentrated in
IT parks and centers in Economic Zones across the Philippines. [131] BPO facilities are located mainly in Metro
Manila and Cebu City although other regional areas such as Baguio, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Clark Freeport
Zone, Dagupan, Davao City, Dumaguete, Lipa, Iloilo City, and Naga City, Camarines Sur are now being promoted
and developed for BPO operations.
Call centers began in the Philippines as plain providers of email response and managing services and is now a
major source of employment. Call center services include customer relations, ranging from travel services,
technical support, education, customer care, financial services, online business to customer support, and online
business-to-business support. Business process outsourcing (BPO) is regarded as one of the fastest growing
industries in the world. The Philippines is also considered as a location of choice due to its many outsourcing
benefits such as less expensive operational and labor costs, the high proficiency in spoken English of a significant
number of its people, and a highly educated labor pool. In 2011, the business process outsourcing industry in the
Philippines generated 700 thousand jobs [132] and some US$11 billion in revenue,[133] 24 percent higher than 2010.
By 2016, the industry is projected to reach US$27.4 billion in revenue with employment generation to almost
double at 1.3 million workers.[134]
BPOs and the call center industry in general are also credited for the Philippines' recent economic growth
resulting in investment status upgrades from credit ratings agencies such as Fitch and S&P. [100]
With the Philippines being the 34th largest economy in the world, the country continues to be a promising prospect
for the BPO Industry. Just in August 2014, the Philippines hit an all-time high for employment in the BPO industry.
From 101,000 workers in 2004, the labor force in the industry has grown to over 930,000 in just the first quarter of
2014.[135]
Growth in the BPO industry continues to show significant improvements with an average annual expansion rate of
20%. Figures have shown that from $1.3 Billion in 2004, export revenues from the BPO sector has increased to
over $13.1 Billion in 2013. The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) also projects that
the sector will have an expected total revenue of $25 Billion in 2016. [135] IBPAP projects that the industry will
employ 1.8 million workers and generate US$38.9 billion of revenue by 2022. [136]
This growth in the industry is further promoted by the Philippine government. The industry is highlighted by the
Philippines Development Plan as among the 10 high potential and priority development areas. To further entice
investors, government programs include different incentives such as tax holidays, tax exemptions, and simplified
export and import procedures. Additionally, training is also available for BPO applicants. [135]
Tourism[edit]
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Main article: Tourism in the Philippines
Boracay, one of the country's top tourist destinations
Tourism is an important sector for the Philippine economy, contributing 7.8% to the Philippine gross domestic
product (GDP) in 2014.[137]
The tourism industry employed 3.8 million Filipinos, or 10.2 per cent of national employment in 2011, according to
data gathered by the National Statistical Coordination Board. In a greater thrust by the Aquino administration to
pump billion[clarification needed] to employ 7.4 million people by 2016, or about 18.8 per cent of the total workforce,
contributing 8 per cent to 9 per cent to the nation's GDP.[138]
In 2014, the tourism sector contributed 1.4 trillion pesos to the country's economy. [139]
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Vast sugarcane plantations in Bacolod, Western Visayas.

A rice field in Bulacan, Central Luzon.

Pineapples in a market in Laguna, Calabarzon.

General Santos City Fishing Port Complex

Shipbuilding and repair[edit]

Mining and extraction[edit]

Geothermal power station in Negros Oriental

Offshoring and outsourcing[edit]

A business process outsourcing office in Bacolod

In 2008, the Philippines has surpassed India as the world leader in business process outsourcing.[128][129] The

Boracay, one of the country's top tourist destinations

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