The total output of the country’s factories jumped 265 percent year-on-year in May mainly due to a low base in the same month in 2020 when most manufacturing operations ground to a halt due to the imposition of a strict COVID-19 lockdown.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) monthly integrated survey of selected industries (Missi) for May showed a faster increase in the volume of production index (VoPI)—a proxy for factory output—from April’s 155.6-percent climb.
In May last year, VoPI fell 73.2 percent due to the enhanced community quarantine which stopped 75 percent of the economy in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19.
The PSA said 18 of the 22 industries that …
Keep on reading: May factory output jumps 265% on low base effect