Electronics exports seen to drop by 20%

by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star), 11 Sep 2020

MANILA, Philippines — With the outbound shipments of electronic products on a double-digit decline in the seven months to July this year, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc. (SEIPI) expects total electronics exports to fall by a fifth this year from a year ago.

SEIPI president Dan Lachica said the group is projecting a 20 percent drop in the shipments of electronic products, the country’s top export.

“Our projection of negative 20 percent is still dependent on the quarantine status, and stability of supply chain and workforce,” he said.

Last year, the country exported $43.3 billion worth of electronic products.

SEIPI initially projected a five percent growth in electronic exports this year.

At the start of the year, operations of some SEIPI members were affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano in Batangas as a large number of them are located in the economic zones in CALABARZON.

The lockdown imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 also disrupted the supply chain.

Given the uncertainty brought by the pandemic, Lachica said was unlikely to meet the projected five percent growth.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the country’s electronic exports reached $19.44 billion in January to July. 13 percent lower than the $22.35 billion last year.

In July, Philippine electronics exports dipped 2.6 percent to $3.35 billion from $3.44 billion in the same month in the previous year.