NEDA assistant director general Rosemarie Edillon (Source: Internet) Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines Government on February 15 cut its GDP growth target for 2016 by 0.2 percentage point to 6.8- 7.8 percent, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
External risks such as China’s slowed-down economy and cheaper oil prices in the global market were said to be the main reason behind the move, NEDA said.
NEDA assistant director general Rosemarie Edillon said the country’s average growth target was forecast to stand at 6.6 - 7.6 percent in 2017, 7-8 percent in the following year, and 6.9 - 7.9 percent in 2019.
Speaking at the press conference after a recent meeting of the inter-agency Development Budget Coordination Committee in Manila, Edillon said the Government also lowered the 2016 export growth target to 5 percent from 6 percent previously, and the imports growth goal to 10 percent from the previous 12 percent.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have recently forecast that the Philippines’ GDP growth in 2016 will be somwhere between 6.2-6.4 percent.
In 2015, the country’s GDP growth stood at 5.8 percent. The country failed to realise its set yearly target of 7-8 percent due to trimmed demand from the global market and the El Nino phenomenon, which impacted on its export turnover and productivity of farm produce.-VNA
