Subic exports top $1B in 2001

OLONGAPO CITY – The Subic Bay Freeport was able to record $1.08 billion in exports in 2001 despite the slump in the electronics industry.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Felicito C. Payumo noted the significant increase of $76 million or about 27 percent for the last quarter of 2001, compared to the same period last year.

This is the third consecutive year that the freeport’s exports have surpassed the $1-billion mark after posting a remarkable increase of 113 percent from its 1998 record of $555 million attained by the previous SBMA administration.

Based on the statistics released by PhilExport’s One-Stop Export Documentation Center (OSEDC-Subic) Subic Freeport’s Freight on Board (FoB) value for the last quarter of the year reached $350 million compared to last year’s figure of $278 million.

PhilExport acting manager Noel Tuliao reported that the value increased significantly by about 40 percent for the month of December alone with $108 million export value compared to $64 million in year 2000.

"Subic Freeport’s export achievement last year remains strong compared to the weak performance of other major ports in the country, including the Port of Manila," Tuliao said.

Payumo said these promising figures are indications of bigger things to come as the SBMA enters the first quarter of 2002 making the country’s premier freeport more competitive in the global arena.

In his report to Payumo during the recent board meeting of the Subic Bay Development Management Corp. (SBDMC), SBDMC president H.J. Cheng said Wistron, an affiliate of the Acer group of companies, increased its production volume in November alone to 130,000 laptops from 70,000 units during the previous months.

Cheng said the 130,000 units have a value of $13 million.

The increase in production activities of major companies led to higher export and employment figures in the last quarter of 2001. – Bebot Sison Jr.