Exports dip for 8th straight month

Philippine exports are said to have declined for the eighth straight month in December at 16.7 percent year on year due to the continuing lackluster performance of electronics.

The DBS Group said in a research note that the figure could mean a 5.2 percent decrease in export earnings for the whole of 2011.

“Export figures have been appalling over the last few months and there has yet to be any clear signs of bottoming out,” the financial services firm said.

The Singapore-based group noted that the total value of electronics cargoes—still the country’s top export—fell to a 30-month low in November.

According to the National Statistics Office, outbound shipments of electronics settled at $1.549 billion in November, accounting for 45.8 percent of total exports. January-November exports fell by 5.6 percent to $44.635 billion from the $47.296 billion reported in the same period of 2010.

Also in November, the value of electronics shipped out fell by 34.5 percent year on year. Compared with the previous month, exports likewise dipped by 19.3 percent.

“Although weak external demand plays a large role in explaining the slump in electronic manufactures exports, the country seems to be performing significantly worse than other electronic manufactures exporters such as Taiwan and Singapore,” DBS said. “For 2012, we are expecting only a 3.7 percent increase in exports.”

DBS said the dip in exports could also shave off 1.4 percentage points from the gross domestic product in 2012.