Manufacturing volume slightly up in December

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s manufacturing sector registered an increase in December 2015 brought about by a rise construction activity and helped by continued low oil prices, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

The Volume of Production Index (VoPI) grew by 4.9%, faster than the growth of 4.4% in November 2015, while the Value of Production (VaPI) decreased by 2.6% based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries for December 2015.

“We must continue to help the manufacturing sector realize its potential by creating and strengthening linkages across all production sectors. This will enhance its capacity to absorb labor,” NEDA Director-General Emmanuel Esguerra said.

He added that “the continued drop in petroleum prices will also keep operating costs minimal, and this is expected to boost the volume of production”.

Beverages up, food down

For consumer goods, beverages rebounded from its negative performance in the previous month to triple its performance from November 2015,  posting 12% growth in volume of production and 15.2 % growth in value of production.

On the other hand, the food subsector slowed down in both production volume and value, registering a contraction of 1.3% and 2.7%, respectively. 

NEDA said that this is due to the persistent dry spell brought about by El Niño in the second semester of 2015.

“It is important to broaden the scope of supply and marketing linkages to dampen the impact of the El Niño which is reported to last until the second quarter of 2016,” Esguerra said.

He pointed out that this could include encouraging more processing and better storage, packaging, and marketing of agricultural products to expand product range and reach a wider market,

On the government’s part, improving infrastructure and  aggressive information-sharing schemes and simplified bureaucratic processes would help, he added. 

“Despite the unfavorable economic global climate, the sector remains optimistic in 2016. With low and stable inflation and good employment opportunities, consumers have increased spending power, which strengthens domestic demand,” Esguerra said. – Rappler.com