Moody’s: Manufacturing output up as spending season kicks in

The manufacturing sector likely grew 12 percent in September ahead of the expected robust demand during the holiday season, the research arm of debt watcher Moody’s said.

“Philippine industrial production growth will likely maintain its blistering pace, rising 12 percent year-on-year in September, compared with 13.6 percent in August,” Moody’s Analytics said in a report Friday.

“Rapid growth in domestic investment and consumption has been the main driver” of manufacturing growth at the end of the third quarter, Moody’s Analytics added.

It added the agriculture sector also provided the necessary boost after withstanding the negative effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) had attributed the jump in total manufacturing, as measured by the Volume of Production Index, last August to “sustained production of capital goods and growth in volume of export-oriented products.”

“Manufacturing output sustaining positive growth despite the weak global economy is driven by the increase in new orders and sales volume as well as expansions of new manufacturing firms … We expect the firms to remain in the expansion mode in the coming months due to the increase in their operating capacity and purchasing activities,” Neda Deputy Director-General Rosemarie G. Edillon said last month.

Nonetheless, the government is now preparing for an extreme wet season brought about by the La Niña phenomenon.

Last Friday, Neda said weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) had projected a 65-percent chance of La Niña developing in the fourth quarter and continuing until February next year.

“Given the larger possibility of more frequent and stronger rains, the agriculture sector needs to implement adaptation measures to protect the income of farmers and keep food price inflation at bay,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said in a statement.

“We aim to strengthen the agricultural sector through a comprehensive agricultural development program, a major component of the proposed Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022,” added Pernia, who is also Neda Director General.