Shipments to Japan up 11% in first half

Despite the triple disasters in Japan, Philippine exports to Japan grew by 11.3 percent in the first half to close to $4.2 billion, from $3.7 billion in the same period last year.

The impact of the March 11 Japan earthquake was more felt by Japan, which shipped 3.5 percent less goods to the Philippines during the same period, to $5.1 billion from the previous year’s $5.3 billion, according to data from the Japan External Trade Organization.

Despite the drop in Japan’s exports to the country in the first six months, it still managed to post a trade surplus of $942.5 million.

In June alone, the value of goods that the country shipped to Japan soared 25.8 percent to $852.7 million, from $677.9 million in the same month last year.

Philippine imports from Japan in June, on the other hand, slipped 4.6 percent to $873.3 million, from last year’s $915.2 million.

For June, Japan registered a trade surplus of almost $20.7 million.

The Department of Trade and Industry expects trade with Japan to start to normalize within the second semester, as the electronics sector begins to recover from the Japan crisis.

Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. earlier said the negative effects of the March 11 Japan disaster on the electronics supply chain should start to wear off by the end of the third quarter.

“Electronics companies with operations near the epicenter of the quake where buildings and equipment were damaged are expected to restore full shipments by early September, coinciding with the peak season for electronics and semiconductor sales during the third quarter,” he said.

Japan has long been one of the country’s top trading partners, particularly for semiconductors and electronics, which account for more than half of the country’s merchandise exports.

According to data from the National Statistics Office, merchandise export receipts hit $4.09 billion in June, a 10.19 percent decline from the $4.56 billion registered in the same month a year ago.

Of this total, 54 percent came from electronics exports, which slowed by 23.89 percent in June due to the triple disasters in Japan and overall soft demand.

The DTI, citing the latest projections made by the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc., sees electronics exports slipping by 5 percent this year, from an initial forecast of an 8-12-percent growth.

Electronics exports, however, will likely grow by the second half as Japan recovers more quickly than expected. Helping up exports is the seasonally strong demand for goods in the third quarter.