The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sees having wide range of products helped in boosting exports in April 2017 as it increased significantly by 12.1% compared to April 2016 data in a report released by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA reported total exports receipts for April 2017 amounted to $4.805 from the $4.285 billion in April 2016. Eight major export commodities lifted the overall exports growth with gold posting the highest increase with 2,740.3%. Other top commodities include mineral products (199.7%); coconut oil (59.8%); machinery and transport equipment (50.5%); metal components (27.9%); other manufactures (11.7%); electronic products (6.8%); and chemicals (5.6%).
“Although the increase in April was almost half of the 21% year-on-year (YOY) growth figure posted in March 2017, it was the fifth consecutive positive growth in the value of Philippine merchandise exports since December 2016,” said DTI Trade and Investments Promotion Group (TIPG) Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado.
Philippine export performance in April further lifted the cumulative value of merchandise exports by a significant growth of 15.3% in the first four months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016.
In the January-April review period, the value of non-electronics sectors ($10.22 billion) have outpaced for the second time the value of electronics industry shipments ($10.10 billion), reversing the trend in their performance last year with $8.58 billion and $9.05, respectively.
“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,” explained DTI Trade and Investments Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado.
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.
Meanwhile, together with the Philippines’ continued growth in exports, registered foreign direct investments (FDIs) also posted a 17% increase as reported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) with total value of $1.56 billion in the first quarter of 2017 from $1.34 billion 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,” said Undersecretary Terrado.