The country’s manufacturing sector posted its 11th consecutive month of decline in October, with both volume and value of production posting declines from a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest data showed.
According to the PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries, the year-on-year Volume of Production Index (VoPI) fell by 3.7 percent while the Value of Production Index (VaPI) was 4.3 percent lower relative to the same month last year.
The PSA said the decline of VoPI in October 2019 can be attributed to the decreases in the indices of nine major industry groups led by furniture and fixtures (-32 percent), miscellaneous manufactures (-23 percent), petroleum products (-17.5 percent) and electrical machinery (-17.3 percent).
Meanwhile, among the nine major industries that exhibited declines in VaPI, five major industries had two-digit decreases, namely petroleum products (-25.6 percent), miscellaneous manufactures (-22.3 percent), electrical machinery (-20.4 percent), basic metals (-13.5 percent) and textiles (-10.8 percent).
“Despite manufacturing’s performance, business and consumer outlook remains positive with the anticipation of higher consumer spending during the holiday season, a much favorable macroeconomic condition, and a likely recovery in government spending on infrastructure,” Adoracion Navarro, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) undersecretary, said in a statement yesterday.
NEDA said the extension of the validity of the 2019 national budget and the timely passage of the 2020 General Appropriations Act are needed to sustain the implementation of construction-related activities and help drive growth in the manufacturing sector.
