Exports fall for 5th straight month in August

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s exports fell for the fifth consecutive month in August as major global economies remain sluggish, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a report yesterday.

Revenues from merchandise exports declined 6.3 percent to $5.1 billion in August from $5.5 billion in the same period last year.

“The latest export performance mirrors the recent developments in the global economy: the slowing down of global trade, sluggish momentum in industrial production in major economies, and downward price pressure on commodities,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Arsenio Balisacan said.

The PSA said lower exports of mineral products weighed down total export receipts as it fell 48.4 percent from $413.9 million in August last year to $213.6 million this year.

“The contraction was primarily due to lower earnings from copper metal and other mineral products,” Balisacan explained. 

Furthermore, exports of agro-based products marked its seventh straight month of decline registering its steepest drop at 37.4 percent.

NEDA said the downturn was traced to lower receipts from coconut products, fruits and vegetables, sugar products, and other agro-based products.

Total merchandise exports for the first eight months of 2015 registered a 4.4 decline to $39.3 billion from $41.1 billion in the January-August 2014 period.

Balisacan, the economic planning secretary, added exports are expected to remain constrained in the succeeding months as there will be continued absence of fresh triggers that would spur demand from major advanced economies.

“The exports sector remains constrained by sluggish global demand, low oil prices, and most importantly, the threat of El Niño to the agriculture sector,” he said. 

Moreover, Balisacan urged policy makers to focus on enhancing and designing domestic policies that could mitigate the negative impact of external as well as domestic shocks such as El Niño.

“Over the medium term, we encourage tapping new markets, diversifying export products, and pursuing innovation in order to secure growth, stability and competitiveness for the export sector,” he added. 

Balisacan noted the government should further boost infrastructure development, business regulations improvements and decreased foreign investment restrictions in the Philippines.

All selected trade-oriented economies in East and Southeast Asian regions except Vietnam posted negative exports growth for August.