MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Philippine export of goods and services in 2013 went up by as much as 7.2 percent on year to $75.8 billion, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said today.
The DTI's Bureau of Export Trade Promotions (BETP) said in a statement that the increase in the export of labor via the services sector may have pulled up export figures last year.
According to estimates by BETP, the services sector-under which call centers are categorized-grew by more than 20 percent on year to $21.6 billion in 2013.
As for merchandise exports, BETP said revenues from shipments of Philippine goods last year may have slightly topped the $52.09 billion record-high posted in 2012. BETP said full-year merchandise exports may have grown by as much as 4.1 percent year- on-year.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported earlier that total merchandise exports for January to November 2013 went up by 2.6 percent on year to $49.37 billion.