Manufacturing output grew 11.1 percent year-on-year in March, faster than the 8.2-percent expansion a year ago, on higher production of petroleum products, food and transport equipment, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Wednesday.
The growth in the volume of production index in March, however, was slightly slower than the 11.6-percent increase registered in February.
Meanwhile, the value of production index grew 12.2 percent in March, a big improvement from the 0.8-percent increase in the same period in 2016.
“We must continue to foster a competitive and innovative environment to help the manufacturing sector realize its full potential as a growth driver,” National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Rolando Tungpalan said in a statement.
“The sector is expected to benefit from the sustained growth economic momentum and increasing infrastructure and human capital investments. It can also benefit from the country’s ‘BBB-’ or ‘good quality rating’ with a positive outlook for both foreign and local currency denominated obligations,” he said.
For consumer goods, food manufactures posted a growth of 23.4 percent in volume and 20 percent in value of production. Tungpalan said this was due to the sustained domestic demand for basic goods, particularly for food and beverages.
For intermediate goods, petroleum products soared in both volume and value of production registering a growth of 61.5 and 94.9 percent, recovering from its contraction in the same period last year.
For capital goods, fabricated metal products surged 74.4 percent in volume and 15.1 percent in value of production, while transport equipment sustained its momentum.
“This momentum signals the desire of the sector to support the government’s ambitious infrastructure development program. As such, we must push for the adoption of innovative technological advancements to increase the productivity of local producers and enterprises,” said Tungpalan.
The increase in production of construction-related manufactures was supported by the strong demand for residential and commercial development and increased spending on public infrastructure.
Tungpalan, however, warned of upward risks to inflation as well as possible external risks.
“We must keep diversifying our market and increase our attractiveness to investors by addressing legal impediments that restrict foreign participation, minimizing regulatory burden, and reducing the cost of doing business in the country,” said Tungpalan.
