Ecozone exports grow 9.3% in Q1

Exports by companies located at the economic zones went up by a considerable 9.3 percent in the first three months of this year to $5.603 billion due to the steady recovery of the semiconductor and electronics industry.

Citing the top exporters during the recent Investors’ Recognition Night, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director-general Lilia B. de Lima said if sustained, the export earnings from the ecozone firms – a prime contributor to the country’s total export revenues – could greatly help boost the Department of Trade and Industry’s overall export target growth of five percent for the entire year.

The notable, though slow, recovery of semiconductor and electronics exports, the biggest dollar earner for the Philippines, has even led the private sector to project an even more optimistic double-digit growth of 10 percent.

De Lima said from only $2.739-billion worth of exports in 1994, the ecozones have consistently increased their share in export revenues to $22.775 billion last year.

This growth, she pointed out, resulted from the shift into the ecozones from the traditional manufacturing sites outside, as more locators are attracted by the generous tax and non-tax incentives offered by the ecozones.

For the first quarter, the top ecozone exporters were mostly in the semiconductor and electronics business led by Amkor Anam Advance Packaging and Toshiba Information Equipment Inc. both located at the Laguna Technopark; Texas Instruments located at the Baguio Export Processing Zone; and Intel Technology Philippines Inc. at the Gateway Business Park in Cavite.