Philippine factory output up 84.3% in February

Philippine factory output surged by double digits in February led mainly by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday revealed.

Preliminary results of the Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) showed that the factory output or the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) soared by 84.3 in February.

This follows the 21.8% growth in January, and is also due to the low base in February 2021 when the volume plunged by 43.9%.

Metro Manila and seven other provinces were placed under looser Alert Level 2 starting February 1, 2022, after being under Alert Level 3 for most of January.

PSA data showed that some 20% of businesses operated at full capacity during the month; 19.6% operated at 80% to 89%; 17.2% operated at 70% to 79%; and 11.7% operated at 60% to 69%.

Same data indicated that 12.5% of firms operated at 50% to 59%; and 19.0% operated below 50%.

In terms of products, increases were recorded in 19 industry divisions led by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products which soared by 748.9%.

This was followed by furniture up 90.3%, tobacco products up 85.5%, machinery and equipment up 41.8%, and leather and related products up 32.1%.

Declines were recorded in the manufacture of electrical equipment which fell 28.8%, wearing apparel down 5.1%, and rubber and plastic products down 1.7%.

The Value of Production Index (VaPI) for the month grew by 92.4%, faster than 21.8% in January and a rebound from the 47.0% decline in February 2021.

Growths were recorded in 19 out of the 22 industry divisions, also led by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products which surged by 874.9%, while the fastest decline was in manufacture of electric equipment which declined by 26.2%.—AOL, GMA News