Exports fall for 13th straight month in April

MANILA, Philippines - Despite the sustained pick-up in manufacturing, exports slowed for the 13th consecutive month in April as a still fragile global economy continued to dampen demand from abroad, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported yesterday.

The PSA said total export earnings reached $4.3 billion last April, 4.1 percent lower than the $4.4 billion recorded in the same month last year.

For the first four months of 2016, export receipts amounted to $17.4 billion, 7.3 percent less than the $18.7 billion registered last year.

Exports have been on a downtrend since April last year. For the full year of 2015, total shipments value plunged 5.6 percent to $58.65 billion from $62.1 billion in 2014.

“The country’s export performance remains subdued by external conditions but this period is also an improvement from last month’s year-on-year drop of 15.1 percent. The recovery in the sales of manufactured products, which grew by 2.1 percent in April 2016, is worth noting,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra.

Amid the decline in Philippine exports, results of the PSA’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries in April show that the manufacturing sector grew 10.5 percent, a significant improvement from the 1.8-percent growth posted in the same month last year.

“This indicates that the manufacturing sector is drawing vigor from the domestic market, as Philippine economic growth continues to be robust and consumer confidence remains high,” Esguerra said.

Manufactured products, the country’s largest export commodity group, made up 90.9 percent of total merchandise exports during the period.

Meanwhile, agro-based, mineral, forest, and petroleum products recorded revenue decline, as the weak global economy continued to drag demand from some of the country’s major trading partners such as the United States and China. This tempered solid gains from Singapore and Japan.

“The slow pace of global economic recovery has negatively affected trade in most countries. Given this situation, the country’s export sector will continue to remain sluggish in the coming months as manufactured exports, such as electronics, are not expected to significantly contribute to exports growth,” Esguerra added.

He said significant losses to crops due to El Niño also contributed in weaker sales of agro-based products.

Month-on-month, growth of total exports value was also down 7.7 percent from $4.6 billion in March. To overcome the downward trend, Esguerra reiterated his call for a renewed strategy of improving export products and diversifying towards non-traditional export markets which have high demand.

Esguerra also noted the uptick in outward sales to the ASEAN region during the period, especially to the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam) countries. He said that this needs to be sustained by maximizing the benefits and opportunities from the country’s trade agreements in the region.