An anomaly in the Asia-Pacific region, the Philippines glass industry lags behind its contemporaries in other countries of the region such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, due primarily to the continued performance of its national economy. From its position as one of Asia's wealthiest countries after the Second World War, the Philippines is now one of the region's poorest. Since the relative prosperity of the 1970s, the country has failed to achieve a sustained period of rapid economic growth and has suffered from recurring economic crisis. This persistent underperformance has occurred in spite of the Philippine's rich natural and human resources. Served by five primary producers across the hollow and flat glass markets, the country could do with a few more competitive players, as this article explains.
