The Philippine manufacturing sector recorded double-digit decreases in both volume and value in June 2019, its seventh month in a row of decline, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In its latest Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI), PSA reported that the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) and Value of Production Index (VaPI) in June 2019 dropped 10.5% and 9.6%, respectively. This is in contrast to the 9.8% growth in VoPI and 10.9% increase in VaPI in May 2019.
The downtrend in VoPI was due to annual decreases observed in 11 major industry groups, led by those with two-digit negative annual rates—petroleum products (-69.3%), furniture and fixtures (-40.5%), and basic metals (-18.3%).
The downtrend for VaPi, meanwhile, can be attributed to the decreases in the indices of three major industry groups led by petroleum products (-69.9%), basic metals (-23.0%), and leather products (-20.0%).
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) earlier said a stronger push for policies and programs that improve food production and public spending and that capacitate micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) is needed to strengthen manufacturing growth.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA director general Ernesto Pernia said measures are needed to boost productivity of agriculture and strengthen supply chain linkages between local and foreign producers of raw food products and food manufacturers to increase food production. The food industry, the largest subsector, has a significant impact on the overall performance of the manufacturing sector.
“The government’s rice farm mechanization program should be seamlessly implemented. This will make rice farming more efficient and productive. It will also drive up the demand for farm equipment, thereby improving manufacturing industry and create more jobs for Filipinos,” Pernia said.
Moreover, he said appropriate technology and capacity-building programs need to be geographically and financially accessible to MSMEs for them to reap the benefits of expanded market access.
“To increase the demand for consumer goods, government needs to accelerate public works spending and fast-track the implementation of socioeconomic programs,” he added.
To match this, he reiterated the importance of fully implementing Republic Act No. 11032 or the “Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery (EODB-EGSD) Act of 2018.” This is to standardize requirements for business registrations and permit issuances and ensure that local government units are capacitated to efficiently handle processing of business applications.
Pernia also called for the passage of a national quality infrastructure bill, which also needs to be prioritized and fast-tracked before the end of the national development plan period in 2022. This will include the setting of standards and the necessary infrastructure aligned with international practice. This will facilitate the access of domestic manufactures, including MSMEs, to world markets.
“These national standards need to be aligned with the dynamic demands of the global market to ensure that the country’s products are competitive with the rest of the world,” Pernia said.
