Garment exports down 3.7% to $2.63-B

The country’s garment exports declined by 3.68 percent to $2.626 billion from January to Dec. 14 this year from $2.726 billion in the same period a year ago, the Garments and Textile Export Board (GTEB) reported yesterday.

GTEB executive director Serafin Juliano said that exports to quota countries recorded a 3.78-percent decline with total shipments amounting to only $2.313 billion compared to last year’s exports for the same period of $2.404 billion.

Exports to quota countries comprise the bulk or 88.09 percent of the country’s total garment shipments.

Quota countries are the US, the European Economic Community and Canada.

Exports to the US alone amounted to $1.902 billion.

To the EEC, Philippine garments and textile exports amounted to $346.472 million and to Canada, $64.292 million.

Exports to non-quota countries also posted a decline of 2.99 percent amounting to only $312.876 million as compared to last year’s exports of $322.518 million.

Exports to non-quota countries comprise only 11.91 percent of the country’s total garments and textile exports.

Of the $2.626-billion total garments and textiles exports, apparel exports amounted to $2.282 billion while non-apparel exports amounted to $203.995 million.

Textile exports alone amounted to $140.131 million.