THE Philippines’ pace of expansion has shown a marked deceleration during the second quarter of 2023, as the growth rate of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has eased to 4.3 percent.
This exhibited a notable decline from the robust 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter (January to March) this year and the 7.5 percent growth in the same period in 2022. This also brought the year-to-date economic growth rate to 5.3 percent, said the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday, August 10, 2023.
The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. targets to achieve a six to seven percent GDP growth for 2023.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that in order to reach the target, the economy has to grow by 6.6 percent in the second half of the year.
He said the country would need 5.9 percent for the last three quarters to achieve the goal.
Balisacan earlier expressed confidence that the target will be achieved.
The PSA said the major contributors to the second quarter growth were wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 5.3 percent; financial and insurance activities, 5.0 percent; and transportation and storage, 17.3 percent.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing, and industry and services, which were the major economic sectors, all posted positive growths during the said period with 0.2 percent, 2.1 percent, and 6.0 percent, respectively.
On the demand side, the PSA said household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) grew by 5.5 percent while an increase was also noted for exports of goods and services, 4.1 percent, and imports of goods and services, 0.4 percent.
The agency said the Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE) and Gross capital formation posted a contraction of -7.1 percent and -0.04 percent, respectively.
“The Gross National Income (GNI) grew by 8.6 percent in the second quarter of 2023. Likewise, Net Primary Income (NPl) from the Rest of the World grew by 90.6 percent during the period,” PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said. (SunStar Philippines)