Philippine shipments to Japan up 13.3%

Philippine exports to the Japanese market rose 13.3 percent in the January-August period to almost $5.8 billion, from $5.1 billion in the same period a year ago.

According to the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro), Japan’s exports to the country slipped to $6.9 billion in the first eight months, 3.6 percent lower than the $7.2 billion registered in the same period last year.

The Philippines accounted for 1 percent of Japan’s total imports and was the destination for 1.3 percent of Japan’s outbound shipments.

In August alone, the value of goods shipped from the country to Japan reached $812.9 million, 23.4 percent higher than August 2010’s $658.8 million. Philippine imports from Japan, on the other hand, fell 4 percent to $919.4 million, from last year’s $957.8 million.

Jetro data showed that Japan had started to recover from the production and logistical problems it suffered following the Great East Japan Earthquake in March.

Japan’s total exports as of end-August hit $531.7 billion, an 8.6-percent improvement from the $489.4 million posted in the same period the previous year.

In Asia alone, Japan shipped $302.7 million worth of goods in the January-August period, up 10 percent from last year’s $275.1 million.

The ill effects of the Japan crisis were felt globally, especially by countries such as the Philippines, which rely significantly on Japan for its exports.

The World Trade Organization recently revised its global trade growth forecast for the year to 5.8 percent in terms of volume, from an initial projection of 6.5 percent.

According to WTO economists, trade grew more slowly than expected these past months due mainly to the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last March, the prolonged budget impasse and credit downgrade in the United States, and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe.—Abigail L. Ho