Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the country’s new exports plan will highlight services sector and halal as future sources of dollar revenues.

At the virtual Laging Handa Public Briefing, Lopez said these industries would be the new focus in the Philippine Export Development Plan 2022-2027, which will push for diversification from the current traditional exports of the country.

In the services sector, Lopez highlighted the huge potential in IT-business process management and creatives. These include subsectors in film, software, and game development.

Another green area, the trade chief said, is the halal sector with an estimated global market of $3.3 trillion that the Philippines has yet to maximize its potential. He stressed that halal is not just about food but also cosmetics. To support the halal industry, Lopez said, there is a need to establish certified accreditation bodies.

“We intend to support these groups because they are the future biggest sources of exports,” he said.

The country’s traditional exports are electronics, which account for 60 percent of total. Other current major exports are agriculture products and processed foods. There is also huge export potential for design-oriented gifts and housewares products.

In January this year, the Export Development Council (EDC) in its Joint Council and Executive Committee Meeting, adjusted the export targets in the PEDP 2018-2022. The new target for 2022 was set $105.3 billion.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s total export sales in October 2021, amounted to $6.41 billion, increased at an annual rate of 2.0 percent, from an increase of 6.4 percent in the previous month. In October 2020, total export sales decreased at an annual rate of -0.9 percent.

This brings to cumulative export earnings from January to October 2021 to $62.10 billion, a 16.1 percent increase from the export value earned from January to October 2020.

By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country’s top export in October 2021 with total earnings of USD 3.65 billion. This amount accounted for 57.0 percent of the total exports during the period. This was followed by other manufactured goods with an export value of USD 350.18 million (5.5%); and other mineral products which amounted to USD 298.48 million (4.7%). (Figure 3 and Table 3)

By major type of goods, exports of manufactured goods shared the biggest to the total exports in October 2021 amounting to $5.26 billion (82.0%). This was followed by mineral products with a share of $551.78 million (8.6%); and total agro-based products which contributed $456.18 million (7.1%).

The total export value for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies in October 2021 dropped to $1.35 million or a sharp annual decrease of -85.0 percent from its value in October 2020.

The annual decrease in the export value for these medical items in the previous month was recorded at -89.0 percent, while in October 2020, the increase was significantly higher at 1,367.3 percent.

The annual decrement noted in the export of surgical face mask at -97.0 percent and other face mask (non-surgical/non-medical masks including masks made of cloth) at -62.0 percent contributed to the decrease of export value for PPE and medical supplies in October 2021.

Month-on-month, export value for PPE and medical supplies increased by 8.0 percent in October 2021, while in September 2021, it decreased by -32.0 percent.

Contributing to the monthly increase in the export value of PPE and medical supplies was other face mask (non-surgical/non-medical masks including masks made of cloth) with a month-on-month increase of 37.0 percent. On the other hand, export value for surgical face mask decreased by -59.0 percent.