Exports rise 24.4% in February

MANILA, Philippines - Merchandise exports grew by more than a fifth in February from a year ago supported by the positive performance of electronic products and six other commodity groups, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.   

The PSA said yesterday the value of the country’s merchandise exports reached $4.654 billion billion in February, 24.4 percent higher than  the $3.741 billion in the same month last year.    

Compared to January’s $4.379 billion, the value of merchandise exports in February went up by 6.3 percent.    

“Most of the selected economies in the East and Southeast Asian region posted positive export growth rates in February 2014, led by Vietnam and the Philippines,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)  deputy director-general Emmanuel Esguerra said in a statement.   

Electronic products, which accounted for 40.4 percent of total exports,  helped drive the year-on-year increase in February with revenues from outbound shipments rising 26.6 percent to $1.880 billion from  $1.485 billion in the same month in the previous year.   

Aside from electronic products, other commodity groups that supported the positive performance were other mineral products, electronic equipment and parts, machinery and transport equipment, chemicals,  woodcrafts and furniture, and other manufactures.   

Japan continued to account for the largest share of the country’s total exports in February at 25.4 percent.   

Receipts from the country’s exports to Japan jumped 67.2 percent to  $1.181 billion in February from $705.93 million in the same month a year ago.   

China was the second biggest market of the country’s exports in February, accounting for a 14.7 percent share valued at $682.83  million, a 79.3 percent increase from $380.76 million a year ago.   

Other major markets of the country’s exports for the month were the US (13.4 percent), Hong Kong (7 percent) and Singapore (6.7 percent).   

As of end-February, the value of merchandise exports climbed 16.5 percent to $9.033 billion from $7.752 billion in comparable period  last year.   

Given the latest year-to-date result, Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. told reporters a  10 percent growth in merchandise exports for this year may be  attainable.   

“It is easy to meet 10 percent (growth),” he said.   

He said the group is also optimistic the markets for electronic  products would continue to recover.   

The country’s total merchandise exports were valued at $54 billion in 2013.