Factory output surged by 453% in June
The country’s manufacturing output surged by a record 453.1 percent year-on-year in June after oil giant Petron Corp. resumed its refinery operations that month, the government reported on Friday.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) monthly integrated survey of selected industries (Missi) for June showed the robust growth in volume of production index (VoPI)—a proxy for factory output, reversing the 80.6-percent drop a year ago and surpassing the 263.2-percent expansion posted in May.
In a statement, the PSA said 19 of the 22 industries covered by Missi recorded VoPI growth in June, led by the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products whose production volume jumped 2,932.2 percent year-on-year.
In a separate report on Friday, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort attributed the climb in VoPI to the resumption of the refinery operations of Petron since June after shutting down for four months.
The increase in locally refined petroleum also came on the back of bigger demand this year compared to last year when the country was under more stringent COVID-19 quarantine restrictions, Ricafort said.
In terms of the value of production index (VaPI), domestic oil refining and coke manufacturing output surged by 3,230 percent in June, the PSA said.
The overall VaPI climbed by a record 439.6 percent year-on-year last June, faster than a month ago’s 248.1 percent and reversing a year ago’s 81.7-percent decline.
The PSA said the growth in value of products churned out by 19 manufacturing sectors boosted the VaPI.
In all, Ricafort attributed the triple-digit growth in volume and value of production of manufacturers in the country to the then gradually easing quarantine restrictions, which reopened the economy and allowed more businesses to operate.
But moving forward, Ricafort said that “the relatively large year-on-year growth in manufacturing could still continue even until July to August, though could be offset or dragged by the ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) in NCR (the National Capital Region) in August that may reduce economic and business activities, including some manufacturing activities, especially nonessentials.”
