Philippines manufacturing output sustains growth in February

MANILA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines sustained its growth in February, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday.

Based on the preliminary results of a monthly survey, the PSA said the year-on-year value of production index (VaPI) and the volume of production index (VoPI) increased 7.5 percent and 8.9 percent in February, respectively.

The PSA said the February VaPI was faster than the 5 percent year-on-year growth in January, bringing the average VaPI growth rate from January to February this year to 6.2 percent. In February 2023, the VaPI yearly growth was 6.7 percent.

The agency attributed the expansion in the annual growth of the VaPI in February to the double-digit yearly increase in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products at 14.7 percent in February from an annual rise of 0.4 percent in the previous month. The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products contributed 45.5 percent to the faster annual increase of VaPI for the manufacturing section in February 2024.

Out of the 22 industry divisions for the manufacturing section, the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products was the second industry division with the highest weight in the computation of VaPI. Other main contributors were the manufacture of chemical and chemical products, and manufacture of food products.

On the other hand, the PSA said the February VoPI was faster than the annual growth rate of 6.2 percent in January, bringing the average growth rate of VoPI from January to February this year to 7.5 percent. In February 2023, VoPI recorded an annual increase of 2.6 percent.

The agency said the expansion in the VoPI for manufacturing's annual growth in February was mainly brought about by the yearly double-digit increase in the manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products, which increased to 13.4 percent from an annual decline of 1.4 percent in the previous month. The manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products contributed 45.2 percent to the higher annual increment of VoPI for the manufacturing section in February 2024.

Other main contributors to the higher year-on-year growth of VoPI in February were the manufacture of food products and manufacture of chemical and chemical products. Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, nine industry divisions posted annual declines during the period. The highest annual drop was observed in other manufacturing and repair and installation of machinery and equipment at 23.7 percent.