Domestic trade likely grew in Q4 – Abola

MANILA, Philippines - Domestic trade likely continued to post growth in the last quarter of 2012 supported by the construction and manufacturing sectors, an economist said.

University of Asia and the Pacific economist Victor Abola said in an email that the growth drivers of domestic trade seen in the third quarter, which are construction and manufacturing, are expected to be the same sectors to support expansion in the last three months of 2012.

Latest data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed the volume of domestic trade transactions rose 32.9 percent to 5.71 million tons in the third quarter from the previous year’s 4.30 million tons.

“The hefty rise in volume is due to the composition of GDP (gross domestic product) growth. Rapid growth in construction which makes use of heavy raw materials like steel bars, cement and aggregates is one major factor,” Abola said.

The relatively strong expansion of manufacturing, he said, likewise contributed to the domestic trade performance in the third quarter.

“We can expect the same drivers for the rest of the year (2012), and these sectors continue to show signs of vitality,” he said.

In terms of value, the NSO said commodities traded within the country went up 20.8 percent to P130.90 billion from the same period in 2011.

Abola said the higher value of domestic trade reflects the country’s robust economic growth.

The economy expanded by 7.1 percent in the third quarter.

The third quarter GDP growth brought the nine-month expansion to 6.5 percent.

Domestic trade refers to the flow of commodities through water, air and rail transport systems within the country.