MANILA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday that the performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines continued to decline in August, the eighth consecutive month during which the total manufacturing indices are on the decline.
In its Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI), the PSA said year-on-year growth of the volume of production index (VoPI) declined by 9.3 percent while the value of production index (VaPI) contracted by 7.9 percent in August.
The PSA said the weak performance of heavily weighted petroleum products, furniture and fixtures, transport equipment, electrical machinery, beverages, and miscellaneous manufactures accounted for the contraction in manufacturing.
The PSA said production indices in construction-related manufactures grew, with notable increases in the volume and value of non-metallic mineral products -- 8.9 percent for VoPI and 12.7 percent for VaPI, and basic metals -- 16.5 percent for VoPI and 6.8 percent for VaPI.
The sub-sector growth was attributed to the construction of new cement plants and also in part to the expansion in infrastructure spending of the government.
The National Economic and Development Authority said a speedy implementation of infrastructure projects is seen to help sustain demand for construction-related manufactures towards the end of the year.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said that fast-tracking the implementation of infrastructure projects will help the manufacturing sector recover even with less optimistic business outlook as uncertainty in the global market remains.
"The completion of infrastructure projects will improve transport and logistics, crucial in supporting the manufacturing sector," Pernia said.
He expressed optimism that "an extension in the validity of the 2019 budget, particularly for infrastructure projects, and the immediate passage of the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2020 will assure sustained implementation of construction-related projects and activities."
Pernia added that infrastructure projects are seen to contribute to the increase in employment and disposable incomes, which will result in increased demand for consumer goods.
"Domestic demand is seen to be more favorable in the third quarter of 2019, with production of consumer goods such as food and beverages, tobacco, footwear and wearing apparel, and furniture and fixtures are expected to increase," Pernia said.
MISSI is a report that monitors the production, net sales, inventories, and capacity utilization of selected manufacturing establishments to provide flash indicators on the performance of the manufacturing sector.
