Exports end 5-month slump, up 4% in June

Philippine exports rebounded in June from a slump in the previous months as global demand for the country’s petroleum, agro-based and mineral products rose.

The pickup came despite the sustained contraction in global demand for electronics, the country’s main dollar earner.

The National Statistics Office on Tuesday reported that merchandise exports amounted to $4.49 billion in June, up 4.1 percent from $4.31 billion in the same month last year.

This brought total exports for the first semester to $25.58 billion, still down by 4.4 percent from $26.76 billion in the same period last year.

The government, which set an exports growth target of 10 percent this year, had expected a recovery in outbound shipments in the second half of 2013.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, who is also director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, earlier said the government was keeping its exports growth target for the year despite the declines from January to May.