The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the manufacturing sector posted a slower annual growth of 0.1 percent in April 2025, down from 0.6 percent in March 2025. In comparison, the PPI recorded a 0.7 percent annual decline in April 2024, indicating a modest recovery year-on-year.
The deceleration in the annual growth rate was largely driven by the manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products, which saw its growth ease to 1.3 percent in April 2025 from 1.9 percent in March 2025. This industry division alone contributed 59.3 percent to the overall slowdown in the PPI for manufacturing and holds the second-highest weight in the index computation.
Other key contributors to the slower growth included:
- A significant deceleration in the manufacture of transport equipment, down to 0.3 percent from 1.5 percent in the previous month.
- A faster annual decline in the manufacture of basic metals, which posted a 0.9 percent drop in April 2025 compared to a 0.1 percent decrease in March.
- Among the 22 industry divisions monitored, 12 registered annual increases, while seven recorded decreases during the period.
Despite the overall slowdown, several industries supported growth in the PPI:
- The manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products emerged as the main contributor to the annual increase.
- Manufacture of food products accelerated to 0.9 percent in April from 0.4 percent in March, driven primarily by the dairy products industry, which posted a strong 2.5 percent increase, up from 1.2 percent.
- The manufacture of beverages also contributed to the positive movement.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI for manufacturing increased by 0.1 percent in April 2025, rebounding from a 0.3 percent decrease in March 2025, though still lower than the 0.6 percent increase recorded in April 2024.
The month-on-month uptrend was led by:
- Manufacture of basic metals, which rose 0.4 percent, recovering from a 1.4 percent drop in March.
- Manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical products, which showed a slower monthly decline of 0.1 percent, from a 0.5 percent decrease previously.
- Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which grew 0.3 percent, recovering from a 0.5 percent decline.
Together, these three sectors accounted for 75.9 percent of the month-on-month improvement in April.
Of the remaining industry divisions, six registered monthly increases, nine posted declines, and four remained unchanged.
