MANILA, Nov 10 — The Philippines’ economy expanded by 7.6 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, reported Xinhua, quoting the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday.
In a press conference, PSA head Dennis Mapa said the main contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP) in this period were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, financial and insurance activities, and construction.
The significant economic sectors of agriculture, forestry, and fishing, as well as industry and services, all posted positive growth in the third quarter, he added.
On the demand side, Mapa said household final consumption expenditure grew by 8 per cent, the government’s final consumption expenditure rose by 0.8 per cent, gross capital formation grew by 21.7 per cent, export of goods and services rose by 13.1 per cent, and import of goods and services increased by 17.3 per cent.
“In this time of heightened global uncertainty and elevated consumer prices, this high-growth performance in the third quarter bodes well for our efforts to ensure quality job creation and poverty reduction to achieve growth,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said at the same press conference.
He said the ‘solid’ third quarter growth puts the Philippines second in growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), adding the country is on track to the government’s growth target of 6.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent for 2022.
The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts a 6.5 per cent GDP growth in 2022 and 6.3 per cent in 2023 for the Philippines.
The Southeast Asian country’s GDP grew by 5.7 per cent in 2021 after the economy contracted by 9.6 per cent in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
— Bernama
