MANILA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine manufacturing sector grew 4.4 percent during the first half of this year amid a global manufacturing slowdown, the Philippine trade secretary said on Tuesday.
Buoyed by sustained growth in a few export markets and strong domestic demand, the Philippines "fared better compared to its peers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the rest of the world," Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
"The Philippines is the second-fastest growing economy in ASEAN in the second quarter of 2019, with a gross domestic product growth of 5.5 percent," Lopez said.
Lopez noted that external demand has generally been dampened by weaker economic and manufacturing activities in many economies due to the escalation of global trade tensions.
"This has increased policy uncertainty and disrupted manufacturing activities in the global value chain," Lopez said.
Lopez further said that global demand for and production of manufactured products may bounce back, which bodes well for domestic manufacturing firms' export orders, for as long as global trade policy uncertainties begin to dissipate.
