PH export sales expanded 4.5% in December

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The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is hoping that the country’s exports will sustain its growth this year following the sector’s recovery in December 2016.

This as Philippine export revenues last December increased 4.5% to US$4.71 billion from $4.660 billion in the same period in 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

“As we implement new strategies in diversifying our markets and upscaling our products and services amidst the slowdown in global trade, we hope that our exports will continue to improve in the next quarters,” Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado of the DTI Industry Promotion Group said in a statement.

Contributing to the growth in December was the increase in export receipts from the top five major export commodities, namely, coconut oil (crude and refined; 146.5%), other mineral products (104.5%), metal components (66.4%), chemicals (42.1%), and other manufactures (35.8%).

According to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia, the positive performance of the country’s exports last December “demonstrates the recovery of our agricultural sector from the effects of the El Niño” and also “indicates the positive contributions of mining and petroleum to the economy.”

However, he noted that this means that the government will have to find a wholesome balance between mining development and environmental protection.

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez has earlier cancelled 75 more mining contracts on top of an even earlier order to close 23 others and suspend five mining firms that are deemed destructive to the environment. The move has worried many sectors.

Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. has said the group is “alarmed” at Lopez’s orders, stressing that the organization supports sustainable and responsible mining. He, however, warned such a crackdown on the mining industry that supposedly disregards due process will have “serious local and global trade repercussions”, threatening jobs, the supply chain, and export growth.
Electronic products experienced a 2.8% decrease in total receipts in December compared with December 2015, but remained as the top export product with total receipts of $2.451 billion, accounting for 50.3% of total export revenue in December 2016.

Other manufactures ranked second with a 7.2% share of the total export receipts. It recorded an increase of 35.8% to $257.32 million from the December 2015 value. Machinery and transport equipment followed, with export revenue of $227.05 million; then woodcraft and furniture, with total sales of $202.14 million; and ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships, with $153.72 million in export sales.

“Notable 67.5% increase in the exports of our agro-based products in December 2016 is a good indication that our agrisector will be up in the coming months. We hope to see more of this trend to fully boost our exports,” Senen Perlada, DTI Export Marketing Bureau director, said.

Agro-based products had a 7.7% share, which amounted to $377.30 million, of the total exports for December 2016.

Total exported goods to East Asia were higher compared to other top Philippine export destinations such as ASEAN, the U.S., and the European Union. Merchandise exports to East Asia increased 9.4% with total revenue of $2.556 billion million from $2.337 billion recorded in the same month in 2015. Japan remained as the country’s top export destination, with revenue amounting to $946.28 million, comprising 19.4% of total exports in December 2016.

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