In an earlier statement, the countrys Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that the Philippine economy grew by only 5.3 percent in the third quarter of 2014, much slower than the 7 percent expansion in the third quarter of 2013. Balisacan said that the manufacturing sector contributed the most to the growth in the third quarter despite a deceleration in its gross value added from 8.9 percent in 2013 to 7.2 percent in 2014. He said that the biggest contributor to growth was net exports which grew by 125.7 percent. Supported by the strengthening of the global manufacturing industry, the country recorded a trade surplus in the third quarter of 2014 amounting to 6.9 billion pesos (157 million U.S. dollars), a recovery from the 26.9 billion pesos deficit a year ago. The growth in exports was mainly driven by merchandise exports largely supported by the growth in semiconductors, ignition wiring sets, and articles of apparel and clothing, Balisacan said. The biggest decline was recorded in agriculture, fishery and forestry sector with a decrease of 2.7 percentage points. Given the third quarters performance, GDP growth in the first three quarters is estimated at 5.8 percent. Blisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the countrys top economic policy making agency, has admitted that even hitting the low end of the growth target for the year would pose a big challenge. He said that the country has to grow by at least 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter in order to attain a yearend growth of 6.5 percent. The government has earlier forecast that the economy would grow by 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year. Last year, the Philippine economy grew by 7.2 percent, the highest in Southeast Asia and second only to Chinas 7.7 percent in the whole of Asia. The Philippine economy grew by only 5.7 percent in the first quarter and 6.4 percent in the second quarter.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 00:12:53 +0000
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