MANILA, Nov 5 (NNN-PNA) – Performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines continued to contract in Sept, amid the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), said today.
The PSA said, the year-on-year value of production index (VaPI) and the volume of production index (VoPI), remain at a downward trend, declining 11.9 percent and 8.4 percent in Sept, 2020, respectively.
VaPI in Aug declined at a faster rate of 13.3 percent, while VoPI registered a drop of nine percent.
The Sept figure was the seventh consecutive month that VaPI had negative growth and the fifth straight month that it was declining at a slower rate, the PSA said.
In Sept, 2019, VaPI dropped by 6.5 percent.
The PSA said, the increases in the indices of four industry groups, namely basic metals, food manufacturing, chemical products, and miscellaneous manufactures, led to the slower downturn in the VaPI.
The PSA said, the VoPI for the manufacturing sector in Sept also contracted at a slower rate of 8.4 percent, compared with the 9.0 percent decrease in Aug.
In Sept, 2019, the year-on-year rate was at -6.5 percent.
The PSA said, major contributory to the slower decline in VoPI for the manufacturing sector in Sept was the two-digit expansions observed in basic metals and food manufacturing, with annual increases of 14.4 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively.
The Philippines has been in varying degrees of lockdown since mid-Mar, limiting the movement of workers and the operations of businesses, such as factories.– NNN-PNA
