PH exports manage slight gains as global trading activity softens  

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ID-1009177Philippine merchandise exports in October 2014 increased 2.9% to US$5.173 billion from $5.027 billion in the same period last year, as higher export earnings from manufactures and total agro-based commodities counterpoised weaker sales from minerals, petroleum, and forest products.

Total export revenue in the first 10 months of 2014 reached $51.8 billion, up 9.2% from $47.4 billion in the comparable period of 2013.

Outbound sales of manufactured goods registered a 2.7% growth in October 2014 to $4.3 billion from $4.2 billion in the same period last year.

“This growth is attributed to higher sales of electronic products, machinery and transport equipment, miscellaneous manufactured articles, iron & steel, furniture & fixtures, and textile yarns/fabrics,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement.

For the fifth consecutive month, exports of electronic products, which remained the country’s top export, grew 4.5% to $2.2 billion from $2.1 billion in the year-ago period, backed by robust sales of semiconductors, consumer electronics, control and instrumentation, medical and industrial instrumentation, telecommunication, communication/radar, and office equipment.

Agro-based sectors likewise posted positive growth of 15.7% to $401.4 million from $346.9 million recorded in the same period a year ago.

“This double-digit growth was supported by the favorable export performance of coconut products and other agro-based products. Export payments for coconut products rose to US$158.9 million from the amount recorded at US$90.8 million in October 2013,” Balisacan said.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general said the positive performance despite the decline in three commodity groups put the country in a relatively better position than neighboring countries “because we managed to sustain growth amid weak exports performance of almost half of the trade-oriented Asian economies.”

Vietnam led the region with a 12.5% increase in exports, followed by China (11.6%), Thailand (4%), the Philippines (2.9%), the Republic of Korea (2.3%), and Taiwan (0.7%). Meanwhile, negative growth rates were recorded for Singapore (-9.2%), Malaysia (-5.8%), Indonesia (-2.2%), Hong Kong (-1.6%), and Japan (-0.8%).

“We must remain vigilant, however, as the October performance of the exports sector generally reflected the softening of the country’s main trading partners,” Balisacan said.

“Major economies such as Japan, China and the Euro area are facing a myriad of economic difficulties, which could dampen exports growth in the short run,” he added.

Japan remained as the top buyer of Philippine products in October 2014, accounting for 21.7% of the country’s total export revenues, or $1.12 billion in total sales receipts. This was followed by the United States of America (USA) with a 15.1% share, or US$779.2 million, and by China with 12.5%.

In regional destination, shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and the European Union accounted for 15% and 11.7% of revenue, respectively.

Meanwhile, domestic firms engaged in exporting are maintaining a positive outlook for the last quarter of the year with expectations of increased consumer spending during the holiday season, abundance of raw materials, and transfer of some production activities from China and Thailand to the Philippines, according to NEDA.

“Should these materialize, export performance for the remaining period of the year should at least remain positive despite economic headwinds in other economies,” Balisacan said.

Given the fragile export growth prospects ahead, Balisacan urged the private sector and the government to focus on increasing competitiveness and developing new products and markets.

Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net