Exporters temper 2024 earnings goal

The head of the country’s largest exporters group projected that merchandise and service exports earnings would reach only $110 billion this year, cutting expectations by a little over a fifth of the original estimate.

Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. told this to the Inquirer last week, citing that the original $143.4-billion goal under the updated Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) would not be reached.

“We delayed what was supposed to be the P140-billion plus [revenues] that are supposed to be this year. We’re looking at another two or three years to be able to hit it,” Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a phone interview.

The Export Development Council—composed of government and private sector representatives—had set export targets under the PEDP until 2028.

In 2023, the Philippine export industry also fell short of the $126.8-billion target set under the PEDP, but still managed to reach record-high levels by breaching the $100-billion mark as it secured $103.6 billion in goods and service exports.

$164-B earnings goal

Projections for the coming years under the PEDP (launched in June 2023) include the $163.6-billion goal for next year, $186.7 billion for 2026, $212.1 billion for 2027 and $240.5 billion for 2028.

Previous reasons for falling short of the target given by both parties included the far-reaching impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Officials from both sides cited that the conflict has affected the global supply chain, leading to delays and added costs for exporters worldwide. INQ