Philexport: External issues make it hard for exporters to meet revenue goal

Exporters are finding it difficult to meet their goal of increasing revenues this year by 10 percent, but the cause is "not internal," said the Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport). The group said that the goal is becoming hard to reach due mainly to economic problems in the country's major markets and the appreciation of the peso. However, exporters remain hopeful that sales will pick up in the third and fourth quarters of the year and pull up the country's exports figures for 2012, said Philexport president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. "We haven't changed our target, [but achieving it] is becoming more difficult. The 10 percent growth is now a fighting target," said Ortiz-Luis at the sidelines of the opening of the Food & Drinks Asia 2012 held in Pasay City yesterday. He said exporters are hoping that economic problems confronting European countries and the United States will ease soon enough to enable local producers to improve their numbers. "The things we are encountering now are not internal except for the exchange rate. We are hoping that these things will correct immediately," said Ortiz-Luis. He noted that the third quarter is normally a strong season for exporters and that shipments could pick up during this period. Apart from the economic problems confronting the US and Europe, the restrictions imposed by China on local fresh produce and the appreciation of the peso against the dollar could also impact on exports for 2012. Earlier this year, China impounded bananas from the Philippines purportedly due to the presence of scale insects in shipments. Figures released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) show that export earnings in June reached $4.13 billion, up 4.2 percent from $4.13 billion recorded in June last year.Total merchandise exports for the first semester of 2012 went up by 7.7 percent on year to $26.75 billion, from $24.84 posted in January to June 2011. Shipments of electronic products, the top export for June, went down by 14.6 percent to $1.88 billion. Electronics products accounted for 43.8 percent of total exports revenue during the period. Top export markets for the period were Japan, which accounted for 16.4 percent of total shipments, followed by the United States, China, and Singapore. — BM, GMA News