Philippine exports fell by 10.8% in October 2015, the seventh straight month of decline owing to continued sluggish external demand, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA reported that merchandise exports dropped to US$4.6 billion in October 2015 from $5.1 billion recorded in the same period last year. In the first 10 months, exports decreased 6.2% to $46.871 billion from $52.124 billion in 2014.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan in a statement said “the lingering sluggish global demand, as well as the slack in industrial activity in the United States and the recent economic adjustments in China, brought down the country’s exports.”
He added, “Exports performance in the succeeding months is also anticipated to remain weak given the slowdown in economic growth of the country’s major trading partners.”
All key commodities registered export declines for October, particularly manufactured goods, agro-based products, mineral products, and petroleum products.
Manufactured goods, which make up 88.5% of the country’s total merchandise exports in October 2015, slipped by 5.1% to $4.1 billion from $4.3 billion in October 2014.
“Despite the decline, this is an improvement from its double-digit drop of 24.7 percent in September, following the slight improvement in the global manufacturing industry,” Balisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said.
This, he added, was particularly due to the recovery of shipments of electronic products that grew by 7.3% on the back of stronger exports in semiconductors which rose by 11.7%.
Exports of mineral products also declined 56.1% to $150.9 million in October 2015 from $343.9 million in the same month last year. This is due to lower earnings from copper metal, copper concentrates, and other mineral products.
“The lower volume of export of mineral products reflects the continued decline in the prices of metal commodities in the global market. International prices of iron ore and copper, which are the country’s two top minerals exports, declined significantly, resulting in lower revenue,” Balisacan said.
Petroleum exports dropped 57.9%, while agro-based products contracted 29.8% to $264.5 million from $376.6 million revenues registered in the previous year.
NEDA noted that structural and economic adjustments in China have affected Philippine export performance, with revenue losses dragging exports growth for October. From January to October 2015, export revenues from China shrank 24.7% year-on-year.
“As the global economy remains fragile, export-oriented firms in the Philippines should recalibrate (their) production and marketing processes to serve the domestic market instead to facilitate this,” Balisacan said.
He stressed the need to collaborate with the private sector in order to facilitate marketing of export products to the domestic market.
“However, we remain positive as substantial improvement in Japan’s industrial sector may partially offset the downward pull from weakness in US and China in the coming months. There is strong international demand for Japanese products and this will be a major factor in sustaining robust industrial growth,” he added.
Balisacan underscored the need to tap the potential of the services sector, specifically tourism, following signs of an expected surge in demand for services related to recreation and travel.
“Several manufacturing firms are also considering relocating to emerging economies. The country should thus take advantage of this opportunity by improving its competitiveness as an investment destination,” he said.
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