Exports drop eases

MANILA, Philippines - Exports continued to drop in October, but the pace of decline eased from the four-year high registered in September, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

In October, exports fell 10.8 percent to $4.59 billion, bringing the 10-month merchandise exports down 6.2 percent to $48.87 billion from $52.124 billion in the same period last year.

The PSA said the October performance followed the steep 25 percent plunge in September, the largest decline in export revenues since September 2011 when the supply-chain disruption in key Asian countries then caused a sharp decline in demand for electronics.

The agency said the contraction in October was mainly brought about by the decreases in seven major commodities out of the top 10 commodities for the month. 

These include articles of apparel and clothing accessories ( down 53.6 percent), other mineral  products ( down 50.2 percent), chemicals (down 40.3 percent),  metal  components (down 35.9 percent),  coconut  oil  (down 31.2 percent),  other  manufactures (down 30 percent), and machinery and transport equipment (down 18 percent).

Electronic products remained the country’s top export with total receipts of $2.388 billion, accounting for 52 percent of the total exports revenue in October, an increase of 7.3 percent from $2.227 billion registered a year ago.

Components and devices  (semiconductors), with the biggest share of 37.1 percent among electronic products, grew 11.7 percent to $1.704 billion in October while other manufactures, with 7.2 percent share to total export receipts, ranked second with $331.12 million

Machinery and transport equipment, the third top export earner in October with $303.56 million, went down 18 percent from $370.10 million in October 2014.

Woodcrafts and furniture ranked fourth, with sales amounting to $284.36 million in October 2015, contributing 6.2 percent share to total export receipts. It registered a 43.2 percent increase from the previous year’s level of $198.61 million.