NEDA: Phl exports growth beats major Asian economies

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine exports in June outperformed those in major economies in East and Southeast Asia, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported on Tuesday.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country's export earnings amounted to $5.444 billion in June, a 21.3-percent leap from the P4.49 billion recorded a year ago.

“This is the highest level since the economy started posting a continuous positive growth in the same period last year. It is also way faster than the 6.9-percent increase in May 2014 and the 4.1-percent expansion in June 2013,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

NEDA said the Philippines outperformed Vietnam (12.7 percent), China (7.2 percent), Malaysia (5.6 percent), Singapore (4.7 percent), Thailand (3.9 percent), Indonesia (3.8 percent), Hong Kong (2.7 percent), South Korea (2.5 percent), Taiwan (1.2 percent) and Japan (-6.5 percent).

"The rise in export sales was brought by the positive growth performances of eight major commodities out of the top ten commodities for the month and these were: machinery and transport equipment; bananas (fresh); other mineral products; other manufactures; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships; electronic products; and chemicals," PSA said. 

The state agency added that cumulative exports for the first half of the year increased by 8.3 percent to $29.809 billion from the $27.515 billion posted in the same period in 2013.

Electronic products remained as the country's top export, accounting for 40.8 percent of the total receipts. This was followed by other manufactures, machinery and transport equipment, other mineral products and woodcrafts and furniture.

Japan was the country's top export destination, taking a 17.6-percent share in the total revenues in June. This was followed by China, the United States of America(USA), Hong Kong and Singapore.

“Our overall outlook for Philippine merchandise exports continues to be optimistic in view of favorable expectations on the global economy for the rest of 2014, particularly on the growth prospects of advanced countries such as the USA and the Euro area,” said Balisacan.