DTI hopeful of sustained export growth

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expects exports to continue to rise  in the coming months following the 29.8 percent year-on-year growth posted in May as travel restrictions abroad are eased and more people get vaccinated.

“We are very optimistic that we can sustain this upward exports performance trajectory as our major trading partners continue opening up their borders and easing travel restrictions, given the success rate in their vaccination drive,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a statement.

“The same thing here in the country as we roll out the vaccination program and allowed 100 percent operating capacity even during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ months of March and April of this year,” he said.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the country’s outbound shipments of goods rose to $5.9 billion in May from $4.5 billion in the same month last year.

Electronics which remained the country’s top exports and accounted for 58.2 percent of the total in May, grew by 25.4 percent year-on-year to $3.43 billion.

Non-electronics products had better than expected performance in May.  Exports of   travel goods and handbags surged by 884 percent, Christmas décor (433.6 percent), basketworks (380.7 percent), ceramic tiles (420.8 percent), and fine jewelry (390.7 percent).

Lopez said this reflects the gradual recovery of the consumer market as more people are getting back to their lives and activities disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In terms of exports destination, China remained the Philippines’ top market with a share of 16.2 percent, amounting to $954.28 million.

In the first five months, the country’s total merchandise exports rose 21.4 percent to $29.35 billion.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s outlook for this year, global trade is expected to further rebound in the second quarter, but this would depend on the easing of pandemic restrictions.

Nevertheless, the UN agency said fiscal stimulus packages particularly in developed countries, are expected to support global trade recovery this year.

“As we focus our efforts on the key export sectors of our country, we hope to regain our lost opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain the momentum of accelerating our export growth,” Lopez said.