Philippines marine exports to China on the rise

CEBU, Philippines - Cebuano exporters noted an improving demand from China especially for processed food, and seafood products.

"More and more marine products are shipped to China now, from Cebu," said Philexport-Cebu president Nelson Bascones.

Bascones, who owns Central Seafoods Inc. confirms the recent report of Foreign Affairs undersecretary Lauran del Rosario that there is growing appetite for Philippine goods in China, particularly agricultural and seafood.

Del Rosario, in a written advisory earlier this month, said that “there is a need for Philippine export products, such as fruits, vegetables, and marine products, to be introduced and promoted in Xiamen/Fujian, China.”

China is the second top trading partner of the Philippines after Japan, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

In the first semester of 2015, the mainland accounted for US$7.8 billion or 13.1 percent of Philippine total trade.

From January to June 2015, exports to China reached $3.1 billion in value, while Philippine imports from the Southern Asian nation totaled $4.7 billion, reflecting a trade deficit of $1.7 billion for the Philippines.

Majority of Philippine exports in the first six months of 2015 were electronic products, worth $1.5 billion, or 49.9 percent of the country’s total goods shipments to China.

Cebu is heavily supplying frozen squids and fishes, Bascones said although there is also growing orders for other types of agricultural processed food.

For the whole of 2014, total bilateral trade topped $18.3 billion, or 14.3 percent of the Philippines’ total trade, according to PSA.

PSA record also showed that exports to China stood at nearly $8.5 billion, while imports from the mainland were valued at $9.9 billion, resulting in a $1.4 billion trade deficit.

Leading Philippine exports to China in 2014 were electronic products, with receipts amounting to $3.9 billion, or 46.5 percent of the country’s exports to China.

According to Bascones, this is a good development for the export sector--getting demand from China, while other markets are yet to recover.  (FREEMAN)