MANILA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' economy expanded by 7.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday.
In a press conference, PSA head Dennis Mapa said main contributors to the gross domestic product (GDP) in this period were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, financial and insurance activities, and construction.
The significant economic sectors of agriculture, forestry, and fishing, as well as industry and services all posted positive growth in the third quarter, he added.
On the demand side, Mapa said household final consumption expenditure grew by 8 percent, the government's final consumption expenditure rose by 0.8 percent, gross capital formation grew by 21.7 percent, export of goods and services rose by 13.1 percent, and import of goods and services increased by 17.3 percent.
"In this time of heightened global uncertainty and elevated consumer prices, this high-growth performance in the third quarter bodes well for our efforts to ensure quality job creation and poverty reduction to achieve growth," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said at the same press conference.
He said the "solid" third quarter growth puts the Philippines second in growth in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), adding the country is on track to the government's growth target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent for 2022.
The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts a 6.5 percent GDP growth in 2022 and 6.3 percent in 2023 for the Philippines.
The Southeast Asian country's GDP grew by 5.7 percent in 2021 after the economy contracted by 9.6 percent in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ■