Economy grew 6.8% in the first quarter

May 10, 2018

The Philippine economy grew 6.8 percent in the first quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority ( PSA) said Thursday.

The growth figure, which Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said was within expectations, marked the 10th consecutive quarter that the Philippines was able to achieve growth of 6.5 percent or more.

Pernia said the Philippines "remains one of the best performing economies in the region, next only to Vietnam's 7.4 percent growth, same as China, and higher than Indonesia's 5.1 percent."

"If not for the first quarter 2017 to first quarter 2018 rate of increase in inflation, real GDP ( gross domestic product) growth would have been well within our growth rate targets of 7 to 8 percent," said Pernia in a statement.

"The inflation is the spoiler. That is why we really need to focus on inflation especially because it is the number one concern expressed by the Filipinos in surveys, by SWS ( Social Weather Stations) or Pulse Asia," he added.

By sector, industry grew 7.9 percent backed up by manufacturing and construction sub-sectors due to the government's infrastructure program.

The services sector grew by 7 percent but agriculture growth weakened to 1.5 percent, after bouncing back from El Nino last year, said Pernia.

Pernia said though palay and corn production increased, the price of these commodities "is on the rise." The fisheries subsector declined for the fourth straight quarter.

"For inclusive and sustained growth to happen, the agriculture and fisheries sector needs extensive and deep reforms," he added. DMS