The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) is confident that the country’s export sector will recover in the fourth quarter of this year.
Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said they see a three to five percent growth in the export industry despite the considerable drop in demand from the US, the country’s largest export market.
Ortiz-Luis said exporters are coping with the decrease in demand from the US market by selling their products to other countries. However, he conceded that the slowdown in the US has an effect on worldwide demand.
According to the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP), the country’s exports of electronics are expected to post a zero growth rate this year.
In fact, the semiconductor industry said they are hoping for a flat growth for the second quarter following a weak first three months performance.
“We are hoping that the second quarter is better because we lost some ground in the first quarter,” Ernesto B. Santiago, president of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines said in an interview.
From January to May, semiconductor exports are down by three percent.
According to the PEDP, Philippine exports are expected to reach $84 billion by 2010 as more business process outsourcing (BPO) centers expressed interest in investing in the country.
Ortiz-Luis said that this means that the export industry would have to grow 14.33 percent annually until 2010.
Ortiz-Luis said they are confident that the service sector will continue to grow despite the global economic slowdown.
He said that as the world economy slackens, more companies from developed nations seek alternative methods in order to cut costs. One of the methods is to outsource service, thus creating the demand for BPOs.
Ortiz-Luis said that under the plan, the country will continue to focus on the Asian region as a good export market. The new markets identified include India, Australia and New Zealand, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
He said the new plan will also zero in on the needs of the specific industries or the revenue streams.