Exports remain flat in April

MANILA, Philippines - The value of the country’s merchandise exports was nearly unchanged in  April from the same month last year amid the weak performance of  electronic products.   

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said yesterday total export  earnings in April amounted to $4.544 billion, a 0.8 percent growth  from the $4.506 billion recorded value in the same month last year.   

The year-on-year uptick posted in April was much lower compared to the  annual growth rates of 12.4 percent and 11.6 percent posted in March  and February, respectively.   

The slower growth in April was seen as electronic products, the  country’s top merchandise export, declined 2.5 percent to $1.817  billion from $1.863 billion in the same month in 2013.   

Commodity groups that contributed to the slight increase in exports in  April were processed food and beverages; other mineral products;  machinery and transport equipment; ignition wiring set and other  wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships; articles of apparel  and clothing accessories, and woodcrafts and furniture.   

Socioeconomic planning chief Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement the  government remains positive that exports would grow at a faster pace in  the coming months as it expects a recovery in demand from the overseas  market.   

“This slower export growth is not expected to persist in the  long-term. Overall, the gradual recovery of the global economy  continues to firm up as demand from the Philippines’ other major  export markets picked up strongly in April 2014 particularly for  Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Germany, Taiwan, and the Netherlands,”  he said.   

“It is also of note that the Semiconductors and Electronics Industries  of the Philippines Inc. (SEIPI) remains optimistic that the country’s  semiconductor exports will bounce back, keeping the five-percent  growth target in electronics exports for 2014,” he added.   

The PSA noted that Japan remained the top destination of Philippine  merchandise exports in April, accounting for a 20.7-percent share.   

Total exports to Japan were valued at $939.16 million in April, down  5.5 percent from the $993.99 million recorded value in the same month  a year ago.   

The US ranked second with its 16.2-percent share with export  receipts valued at $735.20 million in April, followed by China which  had a 12.6-percent share with export revenues worth $570.70 million.   

For the January to April period, merchandise exports climbed 5.4  percent to $18.859 billion in 2014 from $17.894 billion in same period  of last year.