Construction of new buildings alongside older establishments is seen within the business district in Makati City, metro Manila, Philippines January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
The Philippine economy grew slower at 5.6 % in 2023, falling short of the ambitious growth target of the national government of 6% to 7% due to the soaring food prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.
In a press briefing, PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the the annual gross domestic product (GDP) or the total value of goods and services produced in a period, grew by 5.6% from October to December 2023.
The figures are weaker than the 7.1% recorded in the same period in 2022. It is also a deceleration from the 5.9% GDP growth posted in the third quarter of 2023.
In a statement, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that despite the country not hitting its target growth rate, it stil remains to be one of the "best-performing economies in Asia."
Comparing the growth rates of neighbors in the region, Balisacan said the Philippines’ fourth quarter growth surpassed that of China (5.2%) and Malaysia (3.4%) while falling behind Vietnam (6.7%).
“More importantly, our full-year GDP for 2023 is now 8.6% higher than pre-pandemic levels,” Balisacan said.
The NEDA chief said the slowdown seen in 2023 could be attributed “possibly to effects of past interest rate increases.”
Following this, Balisacan admitted that the domestic economy is in need of "lots of investment," particularly the agricultural sector, which accounts for about 10% of GDP.
"We need a lot of investment in agriculture, for warehousing, logistics, transport, " Balisacan said. "You need investment in agriculture to raise productivity," he said.
