MANUFACTURING output in September declined 3.7 percent, a turnaround from the 11.2-percent expansion year-on-year, pulled down by decreases in the production of petroleum, transport equipment and export-oriented products, the National Economic and Development Authority said Friday.
The Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries for September 2017 showed that the Value of Production Index (VaPI) also decreased by 4.3 percent. This made the three-month moving average of VoPI and VaPI decline by 1.9 and 2.5 percent, respectively.
The decrease in the production volume of petroleum products is attributed to the lower production of coke and other fuel products, while the contraction in transport equipment follows lower imports of raw materials.
For export-oriented products, declines were seen in the production volume of textiles, footwear and wearing apparel, chemicals, rubber and plastic, and wood products.
Production continued to grow, however, in construction-related manufactures and food manufacturing.
Economic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon remains optimistic of a rebound in the manufacturing sector in the next quarter on the back of higher consumer confidence and optimistic business sentiment.
“The Consumer Expectation Survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported high consumer outlook optimism for the fourth quarter, with respondents expecting additional income, employment opportunities, and improvement in the peace and order of the country,” Edillon said. Julito G. Rada
The 2017 APEC CEO Survey results also showed that Philippine top corporate officers and business specialists were “very confident” about their companies’ revenue growth in the next 12 months and were more likely to increase their investments in the country.
Edillon noted that efforts to enhance the ease of doing business in the country, as indicated in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022, must be pursued to attract more investments in the manufacturing sector. Such efforts include online application procedures and electronic processing of transactions.
“Elimination of redundancy in the process and lowering the cost of doing business is expected to attract new entry players and expand existing firms,” she said.