Exports up 21.3%

MANILA, Philippines - Merchandise exports grew by more than a fifth in June, expanding at its fastest rate for the year, amid the positive performance of electronic products and seven other commodity groups, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The PSA said yesterday that export earnings which reached $5.444 billion in June, went up 21.3 percent compared to the $4.490 billion in the same month last year.

“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 chief Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement yesterday.

The PSA said the increase in export earnings was achieved as outbound shipments of electronic products, the country’s top export for the month, climbed 10.7 percent to $2.221 billion in June from $2.006 billion a year ago.

Other commodities which helped drive higher exports in June were machinery and transport equipment; fresh bananas; other mineral products; other manufactures; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships; and chemicals.

By country, Japan maintained its position as the top destination of Philippine exports with its 17.6 percent share in June.

Philippine exports to  Japan amounted to $955.98 million in June, down three percent from $985.15 million in the same month last year.

For the first semester, total exports rose 8.3 percent to $29.809 billion from $27.515 billion in the comparable period of 2013.

Trade undersecretary Ponciano Manalo, Jr. said during the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) General Membership Meeting (GMM) yesterday the latest exports result is an achievement despite the congestion problem in Manila’s ports.

Balisacan said the government is optimistic merchandise exports would continue to rise 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 US and Europe.

“On the domestic front, industry expectations also point to a favorable export performance for the full-year 2014. For instance, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. and exporters of some non-electronics manufactures such as furniture, fixtures and garments expect upward adjustment and expansions in their annual growth forecasts,” he added.

Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said during his group’s GMM, however, that the current port congestion and other recent transport-related issues are putting doubts on achieving the target of eight to 10 percent growth in exports this year.

To promote the growth of exports, he said it is important to implement policies such as removal of non-tariff barriers; simplifying tax regime; continued investment in human capital development as well as research and development; addressing productivity issues in the supply chain; correcting the implementation of the Magna Carta for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); as well as easing port congestion.

“Further, through the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2014 to 2016 that will be submitted to President Aquino in the next few weeks, we are also reiterating our call for bigger export development and promotion budget to be tucked in the budget of the Department of Trade and Industry,” he said.

The export budget is expected to support export promotion programs, marketing assistance to MSMEs and training.

The PEDP contains targets and strategies to grow exports from 2014 to 2016.

While targets have yet to be finalized, Manalo said that “as of today, the target is to achieve $100 billion worth of exports by 2016.”