Merchandise exports seen to bounce back

MANILA, Philippines — After a dismal first quarter, merchandise exports are expected to  bounce back in the second quarter and get back on track with the projected “high single-digit” growth for the year.

Department of Trade and Industry Export Marketing Bureau executive director Senen Perlada said the expected recovery in exports is in line with the general positive sentiment among exporters and importers during the period.

“The second quarter should be good for exports,” Perlada said.

“For the year, I think merchandise exports will still be able to grow,  mid to high single digit. I feel confident we will be able to recover in the next quarters,” he added.

Outbound shipments of goods fell six percent year-on-year to $15.8 billion, the Philippine Statistics Authority earlier reported.

The second quarter, however, also saw a bad start for exports as it contracted by 8.5 percent to $5.11 billion in April for a fourth consecutive month of decline.

“One of the things we are seeing now is our ability to supply, particularly on non-electronics. We really need to increase our supply, particularly on agri-based products,” Perlada said when asked about the cause of the continued slump.

Perlada said the share of non-electronics, which comprises mostly of agri-based products, to total exports has been declining versus electronic products.

“Our outlook for total exports is still on the upside. What will probably pull up exports is services,” he said.

Perlada said the country’s new Philippine Export Development Plan has been approved by the Export Development Council and will soon be presented to the economic cluster.

Under the plan,  the Philippines needs to achieve a compound annual growth rate of at least eight percent for total exports to meet the lower end of the $122 billion to $130 billion target by 2022.