Central Visayas economy to decelerate due to weak export growth

CEBU, Philippines - Central Visayas' weak export growth is expected to continue to affect the performance of the regional economy this year.

Efren Carreon, regional head of the National Economic and Development Authority, said the region's exports growth remained subdued in the first half of the year, however, he could not readily provide figures.

Last year, the region's export earnings amounted to US$4.2 billion, down 21 percent from US$5.4 billion in 2014.

Most of 2015 saw exports and imports down as global trade remained weak and many of the region's trading partners, one is China, continued to be plagued by problems.

The regional economy grew at a slower pace last year by 4.8 percent.

"We consider the 4.8 percent growth respectable, given the difficult external environment that affected our demand for exports, the onset of El Niño, and the challenges in government spending during the year," Carreon said.

He also said exporters need to consider new markets and not just focus on the traditional ones.

Exporters have also been urged to cater the domestic market given the robust domestic demand. 

NEDA has said exports growth is expected to remain muted for the rest of 2016 with the slow recovery of the global economy, thus global demand would remain weak.  

It said keeping government spending on track is crucial to ensure that domestic demand continues to provide a cushion to mitigate the impact of the country's weak exports growth. (FREEMAN)