Exports up by 12.4% in July

MANILA, Philippines - The country's merchandise exports surged by 12.4 percent to $5.461 billion in July, an improvement from the $4.859 billion posted in the same period last year.

"The positive growth was mainly brought about by the increase of nine major commodities out of the top ten commodities for the month. These are: machinery and transport equipment; other mineral products; ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; coconut oil; woodcrafts and furniture; other manufactures; and electronic products," the Philippine Statistical Authority noted.

Exports from January to July 2014 amounted to $35.129 billion, an 8.5-percent increase from the $32.374 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Electronic products remained as the country's top export, taking a 38.3-percent or $2.090-billion share in the total export receipts. This was followed by machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, other mineral products, and woodcrafts and furniture.

Japan was the country's top export destination for July, making up a 22.2-percent share of the total exports. The United States followed with 14.7 percent, China with 12.8 percent, Hong Kong with with 12.5 percent and Singapore with 6.5 percent.