Exports jumped 9.3% in January

AFP FILE PHOTO

The country’s exports rose in January from a year ago, buoyed by higher global demand for electronics that came along the improving economies of key markets, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

Merchandise exports for the month were valued at $4.38 billion, up year-on-year by 9.3 percent.

Electronics alone amounted to $1.79 billion, up year-on-year by 22.1 percent. Electronics exports of the Philippines are made up mainly of inputs for consumer products such as computers and cellular phones.

The increase in export earnings was consistent with projections that growth in global demand will accelerate this year on account of the improving performance of advanced economies.

The export performance in the first month of the year elicited hopes the Philippines is poised to hit the 6-percent average export growth target set for 2014 after registering a shortfall last year.

In 2013, full-year exports growth settled at 3.6 percent, short of the 10-percent target, due to anemic demand in the advanced economies.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said the increase in global demand prompted the country’s manufacturing sector to beef up production.

“The buoyant export performance of manufactured products clearly proves the significance of the manufacturing sector as one of our [economic] growth drivers,” Balisacan said in a statement.

Volume of production by the manufacturing sector rose by 7.2 percent in January from a year ago, the PSA said. This was, however, slower than the 10 percent registered in the same month last year.

Aside from electronics, top exports for January were woodcraft and furniture (up 1.3 percent to $291.7 million); machinery and transport equipment (up 17 percent to $207.34 million), and metal components (up 53.1 percent to $118.92 million).

Japan was the biggest export market for January, accounting for $1.15 billion of the Philippines’ total export revenues. The amount marked a 49.6-percent increase year-on-year.

The United States was the second-biggest export market, accounting for $605.43 million of the total. This was also up year-on-year by 15.6 percent.

China was the third-biggest export market, accounting for $433.13 million of the export revenues, or an increase of 2.6 percent.

Other top export markets for January were Singapore ($385.85 million), Hong Kong (327.44 million), South Korea ($248.65 million), Germany ($198.39 million), Thailand ($198.18 million), Taiwan ($156.85 million), and Netherlands ($127.17 million).

The government expects exports to be a better contributor to economic growth this year.

The government has set its economic growth target for this year at a range of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.

Last year, the economy grew by 7.2 percent, one of the fastest rates of expansion in Asia. Last year’s economic growth was attributed largely to robust domestic demand, including consumption by households and investments by enterprises.

Originally posted: 1:42 pm | Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

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