PASAR exports rise 29% to $141-M in 1st qtr

Exports of copper cathodes by the country’s lone copper smelting and refining plant, the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. (PASAR), rose by 29.2 percent to $140.7 million in the first quarter of 2005 from $108.9 million in the comparative period last year.

The plant’s increased production in 2005, coupled with high copper prices during the first quarter of the year, contributed to the increase in the value of PASAR’s cathode exports.

Sales in units in the first three months reached 42,041 metric tons (MT), up by 2,507 MT from the first quarter of last year.

Exports of PASAR’s by-products – gold, silver, and selenium – were also up in the first quarter.

Gold and silver exports have increased as the plant processed additional semi-finished materials. Selenium export sales were likewise higher on account of increased prices.

For the whole of 2005, PASAR forecasts copper cathode exports of $513.7 million from an output of 172,600 MT, about five percent higher than last year, which is attributable to increased production and higher selling price.

Projected total export receipts, including that of by-products, is estimated at $709.7 million as against 2004’s $675.8 million.

PASAR smelts and refines copper concentrates into electrolytic copper cathodes, which are made of 99.99- percent pure copper.

Copper cathodes used in the manufacture of electronics are among the country’s top 10 export products.

The PASAR brand of copper cathode is registered as Grade A in the London Metal Exchange (LME) and as Copper I in the Commodity Exchange (COMEX) Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). The PASAR brand is also registered in the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

The company is majority-owned by a consortium comprised of the Swiss firm Glencore and local investors. The consortium acquired 90 percent of the government’s shareholdings and all its receivables in PASAR via a competitive bidding in 1999.

Since its entry into PASAR, the consortium has infused a total of P2.7 billion into the company and has committed an additional P2.86 billion for the expansion of the copper smelter and refining plants in Isabel, Leyte.