Production output, value slow down in Oct. '17 

MANILA --Manufacturing industry's production volume and value slowed down in October this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday.

Volume of production index (VoPi) for October this year declined by 6.5 percent, from a 9.9 percent growth in the same month in 2016.

Likewise, value of production index (VaPi) went down by 6.3 percent in October 2017 from 4.5 percent growth last year.

PSA data showed that production of chemical products significantly contributed to the decline of VoPi, which the sector fell by 61 percent last October.

Four major sectors also contributed to the decline of production volume including tobacco products, down by 39.4 percent; textiles, down by 28.3 percent; footwear and wearing apparel, down by 27.5 percent; and paper and paper products, down by 18.9 percent.

On the other hand, factory output of construction-related manufacturers remained robust in October.

The National Economic and Development Authority said that the production of construction-related materials is attributed to higher demand for industrial and commercial buildings coupled with higher government infrastructure spending and capital outlays.

Meanwhile, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said making government services efficient to businesses and embracing innovation across all sizes of establishments would help in boosting manufacturing output.

“Efficiency in delivering business-related government services or ease of doing business still needs to be improved. Ideally, business procedures across all national agencies and local government units must be automated,” said Pernia. (PNA)