Export figures seen to improve this year

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s export performance is likely to improve this year despite weak global demand as the industry seeks alternative markets for Philippine-made products, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga Jr. said over the weekend.

He said the 10 percent export growth assumption set by the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for this year, the group that sets the country’s macroeconomic assumptions, is achievable.

“For 2012, the performance of merchandise exports is expected to improve. The DBCC assumes that merchandise exports will grow by 10 percent,” Paderanga said.

At the same time, he noted that significant downside risks remain including slower growth in advanced economies such as China and other countries in the Southeast Asian region.

He said that electronic manufacturing services and original development manufacturing is anticipated to decline slightly worldwide in 2012.

As such, Paderanga stressed the need for diversification strategies to minimize the country’s vulnerability to adverse shocks, both external and domestic.

According to the latest data from the National Statistics Office (NSO), the value of goods exports dropped by 20.7 percent to $3.3 billion in December 2011 compared to the previous year.

The result is a contraction in full-year earnings for 2011 by 6.9 percent.

Paderanga said external factors such as the floods in Thailand affected the supply chain.

“The performance of the country’s exports in December 2011 reflects the still subdued industrial production and sluggish globaldemand. In addition, the disruption of production nodes in Thailand further exacerbated manufacturing activities, particularly in the electronics and automotives sectors,” said Paderanga.

NSO data showed that electronic exports continued its decline in December 2011, with a total value of only $1.5 billion compared to $2.3 billion in December 2010.  Aside from electronics, the NSO also reported that exports of mineral and petroleum products declined by 25.3 percent and 44.6 percent, respectively, in December 2011 compared to the previous year.