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PH manufacturing grows in March

By Anna Leah Gonzales

May 9, 2023, 3:24 pm

<p><em>File photo</em></p>

File photo

MANILA – Factory output, both in volume and value, continued to grow in March this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday.

The growth, however, was slower than the expansion in March last year and in February this year.

The Value of Production Index (VaPi) grew by 4.9 percent in March, slower than the 9 percent in February and a three-digit growth rate of 370.3 percent in March last year.

"The slower annual growth of the VaPI in March 2023 was mainly contributed by the slower annual increase in the index of manufacture of beverages industry division with 11.1 percent annual increment in March 2023 from 27.2 percent in the previous month," the PSA said.

The Volume of Production Index (VoPI), meanwhile, expanded by 2.2 percent, slower than the 346.2 percent and 5.2 percent growth recorded in March 2022 and February this year.

The slower growth was attributed to the lower annual expansion in the manufacture of beverages, chemical and chemical products, and basic metals.

The PSA said the average capacity utilization rate for manufacturing was at 73 percent in March from 72.7 percent in the previous month.

"The proportion of establishments that operated at full capacity (90 percent to 100 percent) was 21.7 percent of the total number of responding establishments. Meanwhile, 38.0 percent operated at 70 to 89 percent capacity, while 40.3 percent operated below 70 percent capacity," the PSA said. (PNA)

 

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