Garment exports post impressive recovery in 2000

Earnings from garment and textile exports grew by a substantial 12.2 percent to $3.2 billion in 2000, a sharp turnaround from the 0.12 percent drop incurred in 1999, the Garment and Textiles Export Board (GTEB) reported yesterday.

For this year, exports are seen to grow by a slower 5.4 percent to $3.384 billion from last year’s level as a result of the expected slowdown in demand from the US, the country’s biggest buyer.

Last year’s performance was impressive considering that at the start of the year, there had been warnings that the US market would be down and that Philippine garments and textile exports would not be able to grow as much, GTEB Executive Director Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes said yesterday.

"Actual export performance for last year showed a significant growth in contrast to the negative projections," Reyes said.

The US remains the most dominant market, accounting for the lion’s share or nearly 75 percent of the export pie in 2000.

The country ranked as the ninth suppplier of apparel and textiles in the US market. It also emerged as the largest supplier among ASEAN countries in terms of value of exports.

Sales to the European Union amounted to $372.7 million or 11.6 percent of total income in 2000. – Marianne Go