Revenue loss from shrinking exports hits $11.3 billion

MANILA, Philippines - Foregone dollar earnings from shrinking exports hit an all-time high of $11.26 billion for the first nine months of the year, an indication that the industry may not yet stage a recovery by the end of this year.

Latest data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) show that the January to September exports this year tallied only $27.6 billion, a huge 28.95 percent drop from the $38.90 billion earned from the same sources in the same period last year.

With imports mostly of parts for the electronics industry also diving by 25 percent in September of this year, this is seen to translate to an export decline between 25 and 30 percent for the month of October, export analysts said.

This indicates that lost dollar earnings from exports by the end of the year may equal the total dollar remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year. It will also throw back export sales to levels equivalent to that in the year 2000 or nine years ago, when it already hit $49 billion.

Industry performances indicate that the decline in exports this year may be at least 25 percent, year-on-year.

Historically, Philippine exports had surged dramatically between the months of September and November, as buyers abroad stock-piled on their inventories in preparation for the shopping month of December.

This, however, did not happen last year as exports month-on-month performance suffered a 30 percent retreat. The decline has eased in September, but the numbers for October did not promise any recovery this year.

The dismal performance of the segment of the economy that fuelled high overall economic growth in the past decade also indicates that the whole economy may have difficulty recovering next year. — Philexport News and Features