Exports slightly declines in November

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine exports slightly declined to $5.1 billion in November 2015 from $5.2 billion in the same period of 2014, the National Economic and Development Authority said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the weak global economy is continuing to affect Philippine exports.

"Meeting our export targets has been very challenging as the global economy remains weak, which translates into weak demand for the country’s export products," Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director General Arsenio Balisacan said.

Balisacan noted that the full-year target was unlikely to have been met given the performance of the export sector for the first 11 months of 2015.

Total exports value dropped by 5.8 percent from $57.3 billion in 2014 to $54 billion from January to November 2015.

NEDA also reported that merchandise exports accounted for only 83.1 percent of the government's target of $65 billion for 2015.

"In order to achieve the full-year target for 2015, merchandise exports in December 2015 would have to register a total of US$11 billion, equivalent to a growth of 129 percent," Balisacan said.

The Philippines recorded the least export decline among monitored economies in East and Southeast Asia for the given period, according to NEDA.

Most economies in the region recorded lower merchandise exports except for Vietnam.

"Although a slight uptick is anticipated in 2016 for exports, risks are skewed towards the downside as a more protracted slowdown across emerging economies could have substantial spillovers to other developing economies and eventually hold back recovery in advanced economies," the NEDA official said.

Balisacan said that there is a need for the country to diversify its products and export markets to improve its exports performance.

"Moving forward, the government needs to continue to strengthen efforts to improve competitiveness of our local industries as the other ASEAN member states continue to improve theirs," Balisacan said.