Exports down slightly in May

MANILA, Philippines - Merchandise exports went down slightly in May from a year ago as shipments of electronic products remained weak, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

The statistics agency reported yesterday the country’s merchandise exports were valued at $4.891 billion in May, slightly lower than the $4.932 billion in the same month last year.

Compared to the $4.121 billion value of outbound shipments in April, merchandise exports posted an 18.7 percent growth in May.

Electronic products, which had the largest share or 35.4 percent of total shipments for the month, declined 9.3 percent to $1.731 billion in May from $1.908 billion a year ago.

Export earnings of semiconductors also dipped 1.9 percent to $1.390 billion in May from the previous year’s $1.417 billion.

Other goods which posted year-on-year declines in May were machinery and transport equipment, metal components, atricles of apparel and clothing accessories and electrical wiring harness for motor vehicles.

The NSO said that for the month of May, Japan was still the top destination of Philippine merchandise exports, accounting for a 20.1 percent share.

Philippine merchandise exports to Japan amounted to $982.29 million, 13.3 percent lower than the $1.133 billion a year ago.

For the January to May period, the country’s merchandise exports fell six percent to $21.093 billion from the $22.445 billion in the same period last year.

Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. said in a telephone interview yesterday that while the value of total outbound shipment of goods for the five-month period is lower than the previous year’s, the group is still sticking to its 10 percent growth forecast for exports this year.