2024 growth falls short of targets; NEDA chief remains optimistic

The Philippine economy grew by 5.8 percent during the first three quarters of 2024, falling short of the government’s target of 6.5 to 8.0 percent. Despite this, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan expressed optimism about the country's economic performance on Friday.

In a press conference, Balisacan attributed the shortfall to factors beyond the government's control, including external and domestic challenges.

“We fall short of the target but that’s understandable, as I said, because of the external and domestic factors that are outside of our control,” the country's top economic adviser said.

Balisacan emphasized that, despite missing its targets, the Philippine economy remains one of the top performers among emerging economies in Asia.

"The performance of the economy was still quite impressive compared to our neighbors in the entire Asia,” he added.

Speaking about these factors outside of the nation's control, Baliscan cited agriculture as a sector hit hard by the unprecedented number of typhoons that hit the country last year.

Balisacan nonetheless expects the sector to recover “speedily” in 2025.