MANILA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines sustained its growth in December 2023, 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) increased by 2.6 percent and 2 percent in December, respectively.
The PSA said the December 2023 VaPI was faster than the November annual growth of 2 percent. In December 2022, the VaPI yearly growth was 10.1 percent.
The agency attributed the expanded annual VaPI growth in December to the slower yearly decrease in the manufacture of food products at 0.8 percent from the 3.7 percent annual drop in November. The manufacture of food products contributed 25.9 percent to the annual uptrend of VaPI for the manufacturing section in December 2023.
Out of the 22 industry divisions for the manufacturing section, the manufacture of food products was the industry division with the highest weight in the computation of VaPI. Other main contributors were the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, and manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products.
On the other hand, the PSA said the VoPI for manufacturing registered a year-on-year increment of 2 percent in December 2023, faster than the 1.8 percent annual growth in November. In December 2022, VoPI recorded an annual increase of 4.5 percent.
The agency said the higher annual VoPI growth in December was mainly brought about by the slower annual decline in the manufacture of food products at 1.4 percent in December 2023 compared with its annual 4.9 percent drop in November. Other main contributors were the manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations, and the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment.
Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, eight registered year-on-year increases in December 2023. In contrast, 11 industry divisions posted annual declines during the period. The highest annual drop was observed in the manufacture of wood, bamboo, cane, rattan articles and related products at 55.3 percent. ■