Exports jumped 6.9% to $5.5B in May

Philippine exports rose at a faster rate in May, bolstering the expectation that global demand for locally made goods would remain strong for the rest of the year.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday that exports rose by 6.9 percent in May, better than the 0.8-percent expansion the month before. The value of exports reached $5.5 billion. This brought the year-to-date growth to 5.8 percent.

Stronger sales of minerals, manufactured, agro-based and forest products propelled the growth in merchandise exports, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said.

“The positive turnout in the manufactured segment of the export industry during the period, a reversal from the year-on-year contraction in May 2013, was broadly in line with a stronger global manufacturing activity,” said Emmanuel F. Esguerra, Neda deputy director general.

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Japan was still the country’s top export market with a total value of $1.12 billion, accounting for 20.4 percent of the nation’s total revenues from merchandise exports during the period.

Despite the optimism from the favorable result in May, the          government expressed concern over several issues that might lead to lackluster results in the coming months.

One was the issue of stable power supply, which affected the ability of manufacturers to keep churning out their wares. Esguerra said the government must continue to push for measures “to improve the country’s business climate as well as to increase overall productivity and innovative capacity.”

Exports of manufactured goods grew at a modest 3.3 percent in May, official data showed. At a total value of $4.1 billion, shipments of manufactured goods captured the lion’s share of exports for the month.

Agriculture exports were up 18.4 percent in May. This was a result mainly of higher prices, not an increase in shipments.

Major contributors to this growth were coconut products, fruits and vegetables, and other agro-based products.

Export revenues from coconut products posted a significant growth of 31.1 percent last May mainly due to higher international prices. But the volume of shipments of coconut products fell due to the natural slowdown in copra production as well as the long-term negative impact of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” on coconut-producing areas and the effect of the coconut pest infestation, Neda said.