27 March 2020

Published also in Business Mirror

Total Philippine exports of goods and services jumped by 4.4 percent to $94.4 billion in 2019 from $90.4 billion in 2018, according to the BPM6 data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on March 20, 2020.

The 2019 figure is within the $93.7- billion to $96.4-billion target set in the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022.

“The 4.4-percent export growth was the result of a whole-of-nation effort from the government and the private sector,” said Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary for Trade Promotions Group (TPG) Abdulgani M. Macatoman.

Both goods and services exports have been steadily growing since 2014. Goods exports increased by 2.69 percent to $53.4 billion in 2019 from $52 billion in the previous year. The 2019 goods exports even surpassed the PEDP’s $51.2- billion to $52.7-billion target.

Meanwhile, services exports jumped 6.71 percent to $41 billion in 2019 from $38.4 billion in 2018. While a big leap from 2018’s values, services exports landed just below the PEDP target of $42.6 billion to $43.7 billion.

The PEDP lays down strategies to increase the exports of goods and services from the Philippines to at least $122 billion by 2022.

The three main strategies include (1) improving the overall climate for export development, (2) exploiting existing and prospective opportunities from trading arrangements, and (3) designing comprehensive packages of support for selected products and services sectors.

“As the direct group concerned with growing Philippine exports, the Export Marketing Bureau [EMB] will continue to employ the PEDP’s strategies. To cope with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have opened our lines to address all concerns of Philippine exporters during the enhanced community quarantine and afterward,” DTI-EMB Director Senen M. Perlada assured.