Electronics pulled down exports in Nov.

Philippine exports continued to skid in November 2011, with receipts dropping by 19.4 percent from the $4.146 billion reported in the same month the previous year.

The sharp drop in outbound shipments of electronic products pulled down overall sales in November to $3.342 billion, despite huge gains from other items such as copper cathodes and sugar, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported.

In the first four months of 2011, exports were observed to be on the rise. But in May, export figures began to drop. That trend continued to November.

According to the statistics agency, November’s exports were 18.2 percent lower than the $4.088 billion reported in October 2011.

The downtrend in exports could not be helped because the factors that caused the drop, such as weak global demand, are beyond the control of the Philippines, Cid L. Terosa of the University of Asia and the Pacific said in a text message.

“I don’t think December exports will be any better,” Terosa added.

From January to November, export receipts contracted by 5.6 percent to $44.636 billion from the $47.296 billion seen in the same period the previous year.

Also, the NSO said there were mixed results in the performance of the top 10 export items.

Electronic products, which accounted for almost half of November’s trade revenue, showed a 34.5-percent decline in receipts to $1.529 billion, from the $2.333 billion seen the previous year.

Semiconductors alone dropped 29.5 percent in November to $1.213 billion from the previous year’s $1.721 billion.

Total receipts from the top 10 exports reached $2.271 billion, or about 68 percent of total exports.

Japan was still the top export destination for Philippine products in November 2011, accounting for about $722 million of exports—up by 8.1 percent from the $668.27 million seen in November 2010.

Exports to the United States also grew 2.5 percent to $500.88 million, while shipments to China and Hong Kong declined by 30 percent and 41.9 percent, to $457.84 million and $236.36 million, respectively.

Total export receipts from the country’s top 10 markets in November amounted to $2.731 billion, or 81.7 percent of the total, the NSO said.