Philippine exports drop 7.5% to $4.73B in November

CEBU, Philippines - Philippine exports did not sustain its growth momentum after it fell again in November last year, as major shipments posted declines.

November exports amounted to $4.73 billion, down 7.5 percent from $5.12 billion recorded in November 2015, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed yesterday.

The PSA attributed the decrease to seven major commodities out of the top ten export commodities for the month.  These include woodcrafts and furniture (28.9 percent), chemicals (26.2 percent), ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ship (25.6 percent), machinery and transport equipment (25.4 percent), electronic products (7.9%), articles of apparel and clothing accessories (7.6 percent), and metal components (2.0 percent).

Total merchandise exports from January to November 2016 registered a 5.2 percent decrease to $51.36 billion in 2016 from $54.17 billion in the same period of 2015.

It can be recalled that exports started to post positive growth in months of September and October but this was not sustain with November's contraction. 

Exports to the country's major trading partners also declined.

Exports to Japan, the country's top export market, dropped 21.8 percent to $898.83 million from $1.15 billion posted in the same month in 2015.

Exports to the US also saw a 13.5 percent decreased, with sales amounting to $655.46 million from $758.08 million.

Exports to Singapore likewise decreased 8.6 percent to $307.01 million from  %335.81 million.

However, exports to Hong Kong and China saw growth at 4.7 percent (to $615.43 million) and 5.2 percent ($555.04 million), respectively.

Electronics, the country's top export accounting for 53.8 percent of the total, went down 7.9 percent to $2.55 billion from $2.76 billion.

Semiconductors, accounting for 37.3 percent among electronic products, fell 9.7 percent to $1.76 billion in November from $1.95 billion in 2015.

Economic Planning Chief Ernesto Pernia said yesterday: "While we are expanding our trade relations with potential markets, we need to further harness our existing free trade agreements and continue to push for reforms. This will improve our business environment and increase our attractiveness to foreign investors."

Pernia also said that the positive global growth outlook paired with the upcoming ASEAN integration is the perfect opportunity to expand the Philippines’ exports portfolio.

“We must continue to develop our infrastructure and encourage product differentiation and quality upgrading to prepare our micro, small, and medium enterprises, for the upcoming increase in demand from our new trading partners,” he added.

Imports

On the other hand, imports in November 2016 were up 19.7 percent to $7.3 billion from $6.1 billion in 2015, signaling a still robust domestic activity.

But the country's top import, electronic products, which accounted for 26.8 percent of the total imports decreased by 7 percent to $2.1 billion.

But other commodity groups registered huge increases during the month.

From January to November, imports amounted to $73.7 billion, posting a 13.7 percent rise from $64.8 billion recorded in same period in 2015.

The country's balance of trade in goods in November registered a deficit of $2.6 billion, higher than the $976.9 million trade deficit in the same month in 2015.

China remained the biggest source of imports in November, with a 20.3 percent share and sales totaling to $1.5 billion.

Japan ranked second, with an 11.1 percent share at $812.5 million, while the US was third with an 8.3 percent share equivalent to $606.5 million. (FREEMAN)