The country’s finance department has called on domestic producers to search for alternative supply sources outside China to meet production schedule, and to ensure inflation falls within government targets.
In an economic bulletin released Sunday, the DOF said domestic manufacturers must search for other countries from which to source their raw materials, as imports from China have posted a double-digit drop in February amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threat, affecting the global economy.
“The disruption of global supply chains will tend to push prices up. Domestic producers will need to look for alternative supply sources to avoid production cuts,” the statement read.
Initial data from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) showed that imports from China, the biggest trading partner of the Philippines, fell by 34.7 percent in February in terms of volume.
The latest bulletin comes as the Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported headline inflation at 2.6 percent in February from 2.9 percent in January.
For the whole year, the Philippine government has set an inflation target of two to four percent.
“For inflation to fall within the target range, month-on-month price change should at most [be at] 0.3 percent per month,” the DOF said. (GMA News)
