Export decline continues; factory output also down

Revenues from the sale of Philippine-made goods to buyers abroad slid for the 14th straight month in May alongside a drop in manufacturing output, prompting the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Tuesday to seek a refocusing of the country’s export strategies in order to arrest the decline.

A preliminary Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report showed that the value of the country’s merchandise exports last May dropped 3.8 percent to $4.7 billion from $4.9 billion a year ago as Neda noted that shipments of all commodity groups posted year-on-year decreases.

According to Neda, exports of forest products went down by 82.6 percent in May; petroleum products, down 33.4 percent; agro-based products, down 29.4 percent; mineral products, down 13.6 percent, and manufactures, down 0.5 percent.

Electronicsóthe country’s top export commodityósaw the freight on broad value of shipments slide by 4 percent year-on-year to $2.3 billion.

The exports decline in May was nonetheless slower than the 17.4-percent drop during the same month last year.