PH exports fall for 15th straight month in June

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s export sector marked its 15th straight month of decline in June as the global economy continues its sluggish pace.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday, August 10, showed that total revenue from exports fell by 11.4% in June 2016 to $4.8 billion compared to the $5.4 billion banked in the previous year.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) pointed out, however, that this weak export performance was shared by almost all Asian countries, save for Vietnam and India.

June saw declines across all the major commodity groups with export of manufactured goods falling 9.5% to $4.1 billion, a big slide from the 0.5% decline in May.

Exports of petroleum products, meanwhile, fell by 10.6% since the start of the year, which NEDA noted was the slowest rate of decline this year as export volume increased by 90.6%.

Call for new strategy

Exports to the Philippines’ traditional markets all declined for June as well except for Hong Kong and Taiwan, which posted a 3.2% and 2.2% growth, respectively.

“With the slow global economic recovery, the country should identify non-traditional markets such as in Europe and within the ASEAN region, to reduce the external shocks from times of weak demand from traditional markets,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.

Pernia also reiterated the need to develop a new strategy to make exports more competitive such as shifting traditional agriculture into more innovative agribusinesses by linking producers to supply chains.

He also highlighted the need for better spending on infrastructure projects, particularly those in the transport sector to help develop market links. – Rappler.com