Product diversification to boost exports – DTI

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines’ wide range of products is seen to boost the country’s exports, according to the Department of Trade and Industry(DTI).

In a statement issued Friday, the DTI said the country’s diversified products boosted exports in April.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), exports grew 12.1 percent to $4.805 billion.

“Eight major export commodities lifted the overall exports growth with gold posting the highest increase with 2,740.3 percent,” the DTI said.

Other top commodities which posted increments were mineral products (199.7 percent); coconut oil (59.8 percent) machinery and transport equipment (50.5 percent); metal components (27.9 percent); other manufactures (11.7 percent); electronic products (6.8 percent); and chemicals (5.6 percent).

DTI Trade and Investments Undersecretary Nora Terrado attributed the growth of the country’s exports to the wide range of products the Philippines offers.

“Product diversification is one of the strategies that we aim to strengthen for our exports in making growth sustainable and flexible in meeting the changing global demands,” Terrado said.

“Although the increase in April was almost half of the 21 percent year-on-year growth figure posted in March 2017, it was the fifth consecutive positive growth in the value of Philippine merchandise exports since December 2016,” she added.

The trade department said export performance in April further lifted the cumulative value of merchandise exports by a significant growth of 15.3 percent in the first four months of 2017.

The value of non-electronics sectors ($10.22 billion) has outpaced the value of electronics industry shipments ($10.10 billion) from January to April.

This reverses the trend in the two sector’s performance last year when electronics exports dominated over non-electronics $9.05 billion to $8.58, respectively.

“The noteworthy performance of merchandise exports in the first four months of 2017 can be attributed to the continued expansion of shipments in a wide range of both electronics and non-electronics sectors,” the DTI said.

Together with the Philippines’ continued growth in exports registered, foreign direct investments (FDIs) grew 17 percent in the first quarter.

According to data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) FDIs reached $1.56 billion, higher than the $1.34 billion recorded in the same period last year.

“Our blooming trade relations with our trading partners and increase in registered FDIs reflect foreign investors’ confidence in the Philippines as it continues to be one of the fastest growing economies in Asia,” Terrado said.