Philippine manufacturing output still in negative territory in July, but showing signs of recovery — NEDA

The Philippine manufacturing sector is showing signs of improvement for the third consecutive month in July, albeit still in the negative territory, the National Economic and Development Authority said Friday.

In its Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) for July, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), an attached agency of the NEDA, reported that the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) and Value of Production Index (VaPI) declined by 11.9% and 14.8% year-on-year, respectively.

These, however, are better than the VoPI and VaPI of -12.5% and -16.0% recorded in June.

“While manufacturing is not yet in the positive territory, the trends of the volume and value of production in the last three months indicate an improvement in the trajectory of economic activity. This momentum suggests a gradual recovery of demand in the coming months until the end of the year,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

Despite the signs of recovery, Chua said the country’s manufacturing performance will remain subdued in the near-term as businesses expect the COVID-19 pandemic to have a lingering impact on production.

“Sustaining the gradual and calibrated opening of the economy largely depends on the level of community quarantine that would allow businesses to operate and permit workers to remain mobile. To make this possible, safe and a sufficient availability of public transportation can be supported by service contract subsidies if needed,” the NEDA chief said. 

To help encourage the resumption of business operations, the government will continue to enforce minimum health standards, which include wearing of face masks and face shields and observing strict social distancing protocols, according to Chua. 

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. — RSJ, GMA News