Neda: Thai floods, low demand led to export dip

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said that the weak performance of merchandise exports last November was largely due to supply chain disruptions caused by the flooding in Thailand and low global spending, among others.

Earlier, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that exports in November dropped 19.4 percent year on year to $3.342 billion.

Neda noted that exports of manufactures declined on account of the poor performance of semiconductors, electronic data processing units and automotive electronics. The agency also said that the flooding in Thailand disrupted semiconductor sales, citing information from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

“However, this trend is not unique to the country as worldwide sales of semiconductors suffered a 2.4-percent decline in November 2011,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., who is also Neda director general.

Thailand itself posted negative growth in exports. In November, outbound shipments contracted 12.5 percent as most industries had to scale back production because of difficulties brought on by flooding, Paderanga said.

Yet, “in addition to decelerating exports growth, the very small share of the Philippines in the exports market is also worth noting,” Paderanga said. “In contrast, neighboring countries are experiencing higher export growth rate, and the revenues from exports were also at much higher levels in November 2011.”

He said that the country, through the Export Development Council, the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Agriculture should adopt a concrete plan to capture a larger share of the global export market.

Despite the contraction in total merchandise exports, Paderanga pointed out that several export commodity groups, such as  agro-based products, minerals and forest products, managed to eke out gains in November.