Manufacturing recovers after 3-month slide

MANILA, Philippines - The manufacturing sector recovered in August after three consecutive months of decline on the strength of the boom in construction activities and high demand for automotive products.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries showed the manufacturing sector’s Volume of Production Index (VoPI) increased 3.7 percent in August.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the increase is a big improvement from the sector’s performance since May but remains behind the 5.7 percent growth posted in the same period last year.

For consumer goods, manufacture of beverages led the growth in value of net sales after posting a 19.1 percent gain in August while tobacco also registered a double-digit growth in both value and volume of net sales.

For intermediate goods, wood posted 37.9 percent and 11.8 percent increase in volume and value of net sales, respectively while capital goods including fabricated metal products grew 22.3 percent and 24.2 percent in volume and value of net sales, respectively.

Non-metallic mineral products sustained its double-digit growth of 28.6 percent in volume and 21.1 percent in value of net sales due to continued demand for construction-related materials from the private and public sector.

“We must continuously drive domestic demand to offset the low global demand and strengthen the link between the agriculture and manufacturing sectors to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to external supply shocks,” NEDA director general Arsenio Balisacan said.

On the other hand, the food subsector dropped further in both value and volume of net sales due to the persistent decline in the production values of vegetable and animal oils and fats, grain mill products, processed meat and fish, milk and dairy products.

Petroleum also continued to slip after posting a 25 percent drop in value of net sales due to an oversupply in the global market.

“On a positive note, production is seen to increase by next year with the completion of a refinery master plan of a major corporation,” Balisacan said.