Exports to go back on track early next year

The country’s merchandise exports are expected to go back to levels seen before the March 11 Japan earthquake by early next year, as demand for electronics starts to pick up.

In an interview Wednesday, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo related that, while export figures suffered a large decline in the January-July period vis-a-vis the same period last year, export receipts had begun to rise on a monthly basis.

“We’re now on an upward trajectory. I think the downward trend has ended,” he told the Inquirer. “There’s still a weakness on a year-on-year basis because we’re coming from a strong base. We experienced really high growths last year. By early next year, we should be back to pre-[Japan] earthquake levels.”

According to data from the National Statistics Office, merchandise exports in July slipped 1.7 percent to $4.43 billion, from $4.51 billion in the same month a year ago.

July exports, however, were up 7.3 percent from June’s $4.13 billion. Exports from January to July likewise went up by 3.3 percent to $29.19 billion, from $28.25 billion in the same period last year.

Electronic products continued to dominate the export mix, accounting for 50.9 percent of total merchandise exports in July. The sector suffered a 21.3-percent decline to $2.25 billion that same month, compared with July 2010’s $2.86 billion.

As with overall merchandise exports, electronics export receipts rose 3.3 percent from June to July.

Domingo said this was a good sign as it appeared that the electronics sector was over the hump and on its way to recovery. This recovery should become evident by early next year.

Other export products, including apparel and coconut products, continued to increase their presence in the export mix, helping cushion the slowdown in demand for electronics.

According to NSO data, articles of apparel and clothing accessories accounted for 4.3 percent of total outbound merchandise shipments in July at $189.03 million. This represented a 30.1-percent growth from the $145.31 million in the same month last year.