Philippines' manufacturing output declines in March

MANILA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Manufacturing production in the Philippines recorded a decline in March, reversing its growth momentum in the past months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.

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) decreased by 1.7 percent and 0.8 percent in March, respectively.

In February, the year-on-year growth of VaPI was at 5.7 percent. The PSA attributed the annual drop in March to the yearly decline in the manufacture of food products, which was a 7.2 percent drop in March from an annual increase of 1.6 percent in February. The manufacture of food products contributed 22.6 percent to the downtrend of VaPI in March, it added.

The manufacture of chemicals and chemical products recorded the highest year-on-year increment during the period, at 26.4 percent.

The VoPI for manufacturing also registered an annual decline of 0.8 percent in March after exhibiting an increment of 7.2 percent in February.

The PSA said the downtrend of VoPI in March was primarily driven by the same top three industry divisions, namely the manufacture of food products, of computer, electronic, and optical products, and of coke and refined petroleum products.

The highest annual growth rate was also observed in the manufacture of chemical and chemical products, at 29.1 percent.