MANILA, Philippines - Bananas, metal components and tuna, among others lifted Philippine exports to grow by nearly a fifth in December.
In its latest report, the National Statistics Office said exports in December 2012 rose 16.5 percent to $3.97 billion from $3.407 billion in December 2011.
For 2012, cumulative exports improved 7.6 percent to $43.805 billion.
Electronic products remain the country's top export, accounting for 37.9 percent or $1.506 billion in December.
Woodcraft and furniture accounted for 4.9 percent share, followed by metal components.
Japan was the country's largest export market, getting 18-percent share of the Philippine products sold abroad, followed by the US.
Other top markets were China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia and Germany.
"Total export receipts from the country’s top ten markets for the month of December 2012 amounted to $3.215 billion or about 81.0 percent of the total," the NSO said.