Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said the government would miss its 8- to 10-percent target growth for merchandise exports this year on the back of weak demand as seen across the Asean region.
“The (country’s export performance) was a surprise. I wasn’t expecting it because there are so many (manufacturing) plants that are being put up and are opening. But across the region, countries are also experiencing a decline in exports so maybe there is some slowdown in the region,” Domingo said.
The trade chief added that certain key industries, apart from manufacturing, have been “very busy” such as the construction sector.
“So it’s difficult to explain what’s causing the slowdown in export growth. Although there is one area that declined significantly, which is our exports of prefabricated homes to Japan, this was most likely because Japan is nearing the completing of its reconstruction activities, but that shouldn’t account for much,” Domingo said.
Despite an expected bleak export performance this year, Domingo said that overall, they were still expecting growth.
“I think we will still show a positive number this year, although significantly slower than projected. We will miss the target but things are still going well,” he added.