2022 export target lowered to $105 billion

MANILA, Philippines — The Export Development Council (EDC) has lowered the target for total exports by 2022 to factor in the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Trade Secretary and EDC chairman Ramon Lopez said in a Viber message the EDC adjusted the target for total exports covering goods and services under the Philippine Export Development Plan to $105.3 billion by 2022 from an earlier goal of $130 billion.

“We have adjusted the export targets, taking into consideration the impact of pandemic and weaker global demand,” he said.

While the new exports goal is lower than the original target for 2022, he said it is 14.8 percent higher than the $91.7 billion target for this year.

This year’s exports goal is 12.5 percent higher than the estimated $81.5 billion last year.

Last year’s estimate on total exports is 13.5 percent down from 2019 due to the pandemic.

“The positive growth of two percent in September and three percent in November last year was not enough to totally offset the decline in the first half of 2020 which was the height of the lockdown. But export numbers continued to improve month-on-month reaching positive growth by September and November versus their same month previous year numbers,” Lopez said.

He said the new goals were approved after conducting consultations with export sectors and stakeholders.

To help achieve the targets, he said the government would work on policies and support programs to assist the export sector.

“We expect the CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises) bill and other economic reforms to be passed in Congress, the Build Build Build and other investment and export promotion including digitalization programs to drive up more investment inflows to increase our export capacities, and unleash our potentials in higher value sectors such as in electronics, automotive, aerospace, IT-BPM (information technology – business process management), copper and the creative industries, plus the potential in halal exports,” he said.

The CREATE seeks to reduce the corporate income tax rate and rationalize fiscal incentives.

The House of Representatives and Senate are reconciling provisions of the bill so it can be endorsed for approval to President Duterte.