36% fall in electronic shipments drag PHL exports lower in Feb. — NSO

Philippine exports dropped at a fastest pace in 14 months last February as shipments of electronics plummeted by more than a third, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported Wednesday.

With the numbers an obvious disappointment this early in the year, the 11 percent growth target eyed by the multi-sector Export Development Council and the Department of Trade and Industry may be difficult to achieve, an industry official told GMA News Online. 

Export earnings fell 15.6 percent year-on-year to $3.74 billion, from the revised 2.7 percent contraction of $4.01 billion in January and reflected a turn around from the 12.8 percent growth of $4.43 billion in February 2012, according to NSO.

The February figure was the steepest decline in 14 months since December 2011, when exports nose-dived by 18.9 percent.

Earnings from shipments of electronics—the country's top export products—went down 36.5 percent year-on-year to $1.48 billion, echoing a steeper decline from the 31.9 percent drop  to $1.47 billion in January.

Electronic shipments grew 15.8 percent to $2.33 billion in February 2012.

Merchandise exports in the first two months of 2013 decreased by 9.4 percent to $7.752 billion from $8.554 billion year-on-year.

The implications of these numbers are clear to Sergio Otiz-Luis, Philippine Exporters Confederation (Philexport) president.
 
“Materially, our projections are now at risk. The 11 percent [we've targeted] is now in danger,”  Otiz-Luis told GMA News Online.



New development plan needed

The EDC projected exports to grow by 10 percent to 11 percent a year starting in 2012 to reach its “double-up target” of $120 billion in earnings by 2016.

“We will have to come up with a new exports development plan for 2014 and 2016. What is happening now will be taken in consideration,” said Ortiz-Luis, the lead private sector representative in EDC.

He lauded government efforts to cushion the impact of the non-electronic sectors from an appreciating peso amid the continued slump of electronic shipments as “weakening markets in Europe and the US and continued drop of exports to China since November” bear on global demand.

While the government appears to be doing a lot to support the export industry, a lot still needs to be done.

“One other aspect that is lacking is funding in terms of product development for exporters,” Ortiz-Luis said. “That should be strengthened in order to build the sector further,” he added.

Japan emerged as the major destination of Philippine shipments in February, accounting for 18.9 percent of total exports. The US accounted for 15.9 percent and China took in 10.2 percent of Philippine products.

The non-electronic products the Philippines also ships out include metal component, woodcraft and furniture, and articles of apparel and clothing accessories, which form The Top 5 exports, NSO data showed. — VS, GMA News