Electronics exports seen to bounce back

Shipping containers of Philippine products for export sit stacked along the docks of the international container port in Manila on Sept. 11, 2012. The electronics industry is expected to recover in 2013 with an estimated five-percent growth in export sales, according to the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. AFP PHOTO/JAY DIRECTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine electronics industry is expected to recover this year with an estimated five-percent growth in export sales, after suffering a slump in 2012, according to the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport).

Francisco I. Ferrer, a Philexport trustee representing the electronics and semiconductor sector, was quoted in a statement as saying that the industry started to recover in June, when the appetite for electronics products in Asian countries rose on the back of higher economic growths.

The slack in export sales in the first half of the year can meanwhile be attributed to the “overstocking in the previous quarters,” Ferrer said.

“So we (Asia) are really the focus of companies … Europe is still not consuming as it used to be, but (demand in) the United States has started to pick up in consumer products,” Ferrer explained in the statement.

“The demand for wireless communication systems has grown significantly. Some products, like computers, are not moving. But mobile phones are still very, very strong. We can also see some improvements in solar cells for power generation applications.”

Another growth market, according to Ferrer, is the automotive electronics segment.

It was earlier reported that electronics remained the Philippines’ top export product in May, accounting for about 35 percent, or $1.73 billion, of the total receipts.

This amount, however, represented a 9.3-percent decline from the $1.91 billion registered in the same month last year.

The vulnerability of electronics to external shocks is the reason the Philippines has been urged to diversify its exports.

Products coming from the Philippines are made up largely of intermediate goods used to produce consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and personal computers, according to a previous Inquirer report.

Also, Philexport reported that local houseware makers are expecting a surge of up to 60 percent in domestic sales and roughly a 20-percent growth in export sales on the back of a continuing boom in the construction and real estate industries.

Philexport trustee for the housewares sector Benjamin Kalalo Jr. explained that the biggest local buyers were the residential owners and construction companies.

“The sector is actually surviving because of the domestic market. Around 60 percent (of our products), especially furnishings and house decors, are supplied to the local market. Construction activities are strong. We are able to supply to condominiums and high-rise buildings,” a statement quoted Kalalo as saying.

“Hopefully, [export sales] will be better than that of last year). We are looking at 15- to 20-percent growth (this year). The economy of the United States is recovering, we are tied to it. So in the near future, or up until next year, houseware exports are expected to increase, with the United States being the main market,” he further said.

Apart from the United States, the sector’s biggest export markets are United Kingdom, Germany and France.—Amy R. Remo