MANILA (XINHUA) – The major Philippine economic indicators showed continued momentum of growth in June, with the total external trade in goods rising by 16.1 per cent and the manufacturing production index growing steadily, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)
said yesterday.
The total external trade in goods reached up to USD19.13 billion in June, of which 65.3 per cent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods, the statistics agency said.
China remains the biggest supplier of imported goods. The agency said exports to China amounted to a share of 13.1 per cent, while the imports from China reached 20.4 per cent of the total.
The PSA said the balance of trade in goods recorded a trade deficit of USD5.84 billion with an annual increase of 75.4 per cent.
The performance of manufacturing production in the country also sustained its growth momentum in June.
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 9.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
The PSA attributed the VaPI surge to the expansion in the production of 16 industry divisions led by the manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical with an annual growth of 51.8 per cent. On the other hand, six industry divisions showed downturns in their production, with printing and reproduction of recorded media registering the fastest annual decline of 25.1 per cent.
The VoPI’s annual expansion rate at 2.4 per cent in June is faster than the 0.9 per cent increase recorded in the previous month, but much slower than the 448.2 per cent growth in June 2021.
The PSA attributed the upturn in the VoPI to the positive growth rates in 13 industry divisions led by the manufacture of machinery and equipment except electrical, which grew by 45.3 per cent. On the contrary, nine industry divisions recorded annual decreases led by the printing and reproduction of recorded media, which declined by 21.5 per cent.
