By Genalyn Kabiling  The government is expecting slightly lower cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year due to the novel coronavirus threat, a Palace official said Monday. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (Photo from Karlo Nograles / Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN) Amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government has decided to adjust the 2020 growth target in OFW remittances to US$ 34.2 billion from $34.5 billion. Nograles, however, made clear that the coronavirus impact on OFW remittances would be "minimal," saying the 2020 growth target will still be higher compared to $33.5 billion remittances recorded in 2019. "We expect that the COVID-19 outbreak could dampen our total cash remittance growth in 2020 by 0.8 percentage points, from 3 percent to 2.2 percent," he said in a Palace press briefing Monday. "In other words, while remittances from OFWs reached a record high of US$33.5 billion last 2019, we were expecting this to increase to US$34.5 billion in remittances this year with a projected growth rate of 3 percent. But because of this COVID-19 epidemic, we have adjusted our growth projections to 2.2 percent, and now expect US$34.2 billion in remittances for 2020." He noted that the revised growth rate this year would still "breach another record high" in OFW remittances. Citing information from the Department of Labor and Employment, he said remittances from other source countries such as the United States, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia might help compensate for the possible slowdown in remittances coming from China, Macau, and Hong Kong. In terms of remittances, China accounts for 0.1 percent of total OFW remittances, while Macau and Hong Kong account for 0.4 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. "We are encouraged by historical data that shows that PH remittances have been resilient even in the face of global downtrends," he said. Impact on agricultural sector The coronavirus outbreak, meanwhile, will also have a "minimal" impact on the agriculture sector, particularly on exports, according to Nograles. Such assessment was made by the government's economic managers, he added. "Our banana exports to China, for example, are not slowing down," he said. "While there were previous logistical issues during the Chinese Lunar New Year break, this was only a temporary setback, and our banana exports to China have returned to normal." The government earlier remained optimistic that the country's 2020 growth target of 6.5 percent can be achieved despite the coronavirus threat. Nograles, in his remarks last week, said the local economy is resilient due to robust domestic demand and production. "It is likely that the Philippine economy will exhibit a strong recovery from the temporary effects of COVID-19,” Nograles said.