Gov’t keeps 15% export growth target

MANILA, Philippines – The government is keeping its 15 percent export growth target for this year as it sees the electronic sector’s recovery in the coming months and expects the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry to remain strong.

“For 2013, we will maintain the 15 percent growth target for total exports,” Export Development Council (EDC) executive director Senen Perlada told reporters.

For total exports to achieve the 15 percent growth target this year, merchandise exports will have to increase by 15 percent to $61.10 billion, while service exports will have to rise by five percent to $20.43 billion.

Merchandise exports hit a record high of $51.994 billion last year, beating the previous record of $51.498 billion in 2010.

Although it was a record high, the figure was still below the $53.13-billion target for that year.

Exports of services, meanwhile, reached $18.6 billion last year, higher than the $17.77 billion goal.
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Perlada said the EDC is sticking to the target for this year, as it hopes that the performance of the electronics sector will improve in the coming months.

“Usually, the electronic sector’s performance is better in the second quarter and third quarter,” he said.

Last year, the value of shipments of electronic products, the country’s top export, declined by 5.20 percent to $22.557 billion from 2011.

Latest data from the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that as of end-February, exports of electronic products amounted to $2.949 billion, down 34.28 percent from a year ago.

Perlada said shipments of non-electronic products are seen to help drive higher merchandise exports. “For service exports, the driver of growth is still the BPO sector,” he said.

He said the government is currently starting work on an export development plan for 2014 until 2016.

“What we want is to have it ready by the end of 2013,” he said. –Louella D. Desiderio (The Philippine Star)