THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that the Philippine manufacturing growth had sped up in November 2023.

This is due to the improved production of beverages, transport equipment, and chemical products during the month.

According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), it said that the volume of production index (VoPI) grew by 1.9% last November, which is faster than the 1.5% growth recorded in the previous month.

The PSA attributed this to the slower decline in the manufacture of beverages at 11.6% from 34.4% the previous month, and in chemical and chemical products at 2.4% from 10.9%. 

It also said that the manufacture of transport equipment increased by  17.1%, which is faster than the 5.8% in October.

The PSA also noted faster annual growths in the sectors of coke and refined petroleum products (37.0%), electrical equipment (29.9%), basic metals (26.6%), printing and reproduction of recorded media (8.6%), and the manufacture of paper and paper products (0.7%).

Meanwhile, those on the decline were seen in 15 out of the 22 industry divisions, with the biggest recorded in the manufacture of machinery and equipment (-27.0%), leather and related products (-26.6%), and fabricated metal products (-25.4%).

“The slower annual decrease of VoPI for manufacture of food products in November 2023 was primarily driven by the slower annual decrease in the manufacture of other food products industry group,” the PSA said.