After posting a strong finish in December 2019, Philippine merchandise exports continued on a growth path to post a 9.7-percent increase to reach $5.8 billion in January from $5.3 billion in the same period last year, preliminary Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed.
The country’s export performance in January and that of Thailand made them the only two countries among Asian neighbors posting a positive year-on-year growth.
“The Philippines remains resilient amid global concerns, with export growth increasing amid adversity. DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] aims to use this momentum to further grow our exports and help bridge the trade gap,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Seven out of the top 10 export commodities grew in sales in January, with the biggest gainers being other mineral products (68.3 percent) gold (46.0 percent) and electronic products (15.8 percent). Other gainers were cathodes (10.1 percent); other manufactured goods (7.4 percent); ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships (1.3 percent); and chemicals (1.2 percent).
The majority of merchandise exports were still electronic products at 55.9 percent, while non-electronic products made up the remaining 44.1 percent. Despite the Taal Volcano eruption and the onset of Covid-19, electronics exports performed very well, growing 15.8 percent to $3.2 billion from $2.8 billion in January 2019.
“The DTI-Trade Promotions Group is pursuing more product diversification initiatives and strategic trade missions to further increase Philippine exports,” said DTI-TPG Undersecretary Abdulgani Macatoman.
After 24 consecutive months of decline, exports of nonelectronics bounced back to the positive territory, increasing by 2.7 percent to $2.6 billion in January 2020 from $2.5 billion in the same period last year. The top contributors to this increase were mineral products, fruits and vegetables, travel good and handbags, coconut products, and nonmetallic and mineral manufactures.
The top 10 export destinations were China (including Hong Kong), the United States, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Germany, Netherlands, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Exports increased in 9 out of 10 destinations, except the Netherlands where it declined by 2 percent. Total exports to the top 10 markets increased by 11.4 percent to $5.0 billion in January this year from $4.5 billion last year.
Despite the virus fears, exports to China increased by 7 percent; while exports to Hong Kong grew even bigger at 25.5 percent. Export growth to these combined markets stood at 16.3 percent in the review period, compared to the negative 7.7 percent posted in the same period last year. Together, they contributed $1.5 billion, the biggest export receipt in the country’s total merchandise exports and the biggest share at 25.8 percent.
“With the evolving situation of the Covid-19 outbreak which has brought about disruptions in supply chains and weighed down consumption in most major markets, we could only hope that the January performance could at least be sustained and still enable Philippine merchandise exports to finish 2020 in positive territory,” said DTI-Export Marketing Bureau Director Senen Perlada.
Image credits: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg