Locally manufactured tiles benefit from weak peso

The weakening of the peso against the dollar has had an unexpected benefit on Philippine-made tiles, according to Trade Secretary Cesar V. Purisima.

According to Purisima, because of the depreciation of the peso and the appreciaion of the baht, one local tile manufacturer, Mariwas "now exports to Thailand, rather than before, when they were importing tiles from Thailand."

As such, Purisima said, the depreciation of the peso against the Thai baht is a "very good development because as a result of that reverse movement in our exchange rate, there’s a 30-percent cost advantage in the Philippines now."

He pointed out that while the Philippine peso depreciated to 56 to $1 the Thai baht has appreciated to around 38 to 39 baht to $1.

Purisima cited the fact that "just before of that factor, a 30-percent gap, we are now seeing some shifting in flow."

"Where the Philippine companies used to import, now we’re exporting," he added.

Mariwasa, specifically, Purisima said, has informed him that "25 percent of their production right now is being exported to Thailand."

"This is a good development for us," he said.