PH trade down as exports, imports fall in July

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PH trade down as exports, imports fall in July
Total merchandise trade revenue falls to $11.4 billion as exports drop by 13% and imports decline by 1.7%, according to NEDA

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s total merchandise trade fell in July as exports continued their prolonged decline amid a sluggish global economy, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday, September 9, that total revenue from trade fell from $12.2 billion in July 2015 to $11.4 billion in July 2016 as exports declined by 13% while imports also declined by 1.7%.

“We must continue to upgrade and improve our industries to ensure their competitiveness and resiliency to shocks,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said in a statement.

Philippine exports posted their 16th straight month of declines, falling to $4.7 billion in July from $5.4 billion last year, which NEDA attributed to sluggish demand from traditional markets Japan, China, Hong Kong, and USA.

Pernia pointed out, however, that growth was observed in non-traditional markets such as France and Mexico, which grew by 59.2% and 22.4%, respectively.

NEDA also noted strong sales of coconut products, particularly coconut oil and desiccated coconut, which helped agri-based products grow by 0.6% in July following double-digit declines since March.

Meanwhile, export of manufactured goods declined by 13% to $4 billion in July, representing their steepest decline for the last 10 months since September 2015.

Pernia said, however, that the outlook for the electronics industry, particularly for semiconductors, is improving.

“We must take advantage of this and beef up the capacity of the electronics industry for production, research and development, and design to enable us to keep up with the imminent increase in demand,” he added.

NEDA also noted that the export decline was observed in almost all Asian countries save for Vietnam, with Indonesia (-12.0%) and Malaysia (-10.2%) joining the Philippines with double-digit negative growth rates for July.

Imports also down

At the same time, the country’s imports are also down after posting big increases in the first half of the year, falling to $6.7 billion in July from $6.8 billion a year ago.

NEDA said that the decline was due mainly to a decrease in local demand for raw materials and intermediate goods of 13.6%, as well as mineral fuel and lubricants of 26.3%.

On the other hand, imports of capital goods grew by 23.1% to $2.3 billion while consumer goods grew by 8.3% to $1.1 billion for July.

According to NEDA, other Asian countries also experienced declines. The Philippines remains Asia’s top importer, while Vietnam – which saw a 2.2% decline in imports – is a close second. – Rappler.com

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