Exports climb in June 2013

According to the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis, Inc. (IDEA) NewsBriefs, a regular publication produced by IDEA, exports for June 2013 which totalled USD4.490 billion, increased by 4.1 percent on a yearly basis. Compared to the USD4.893 billion export earnings in May, June levels declined by 8.2 percent. Merchandise exports for the first six months of the year totalled USD25.585 billion, falling by 4.4 percent from the USD26.759 billion recorded in same period last year.

Specifically, electronic products earned USD2.006 billion, down by 15.6 percent from the USD1.735 billion level from last year but increased by 15.6 percent on a monthly basis. Other Manufactures amounted to USD321 million lower by 4 percent from last’ year’s USD334.47 million levels. Woodcrafts and furniture increased by 77.6 percent on a yearly basis, jumping from USD158.25 million to USD281.12 million. Manufactured goods, which comprised 82.8 percent of total export receipts, was estimated to be at USD3.716 billion. Compared to the same period last year, June levels recorded at 0.02 decline. It is also lower by 1.8 percent from May 2013 levels, which were at USD3.786 billion.

However, while exports improved for June, economists believe that the growth will not be enough to propel the economy. Citi analyst Jun Trinidad said that the growth in exports will have a negligible effect on the second quarter GDP growth due to the declines from the previous months. Economist Ben Diokno also stated that the growth does not signify a steady improvement in exports due to the decline of electronic products, the main export commodity of the country.

Per same published report, according to the Department of Budget Management, a total of PhP1.769 trillion of the national budget has been released as of June. This is 88.2 percent of the PhP2.006 trillion budget allotted for 2013. This amount is higher by 28 percent compared to the 76.1 percent budget released in the same period last year. Moreover, allotments of the different departments for the first semester totalled PhP922.63 billion, equivalent to 95.6 percent of the PhP965.13 billion target. The earlier release sought to improve implementation of different government agencies’ programs.

Furthermore per IDEA, remittances rose by 5.8 percent growth in June compared to last year’s figures. Total remittances in June amounted to USD1.916 billion, significantly higher than the USD1.811 billion recorded in June 2012. This resulted in the highest inflow of remittances for the first six months. Remittance for the first semester totalled USD10.7 billion, higher by 5.6 percent from the USD10.128 billion recorded in the same period last year. The BSP forecasts a 5 percent growth in remittances from last year’s USD21.391 billion.

Lastly, the BSP released new guidelines on information technology (IT) that will cover all types of banks, non-bank institutions, electronic money issuers and non-bank entities. The new guidelines aim to improve risk management on lending institutions and to make the country’s standards at par with international regulations. The guidelines, called “overall IT risk mitigation strategy” covers information security, project management, acquisition and change management, IT operations, IT outsourcing or vendor management programs and electronic products and services as per IDEA.

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