The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that the $127-billion exports target this year will be “difficult” to achieve due to international headwinds, but expressed confidence to hit at least five percent growth, mostly driven by services exports.
During a press conference last week, Nov. 2, DTI-Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) Director Bianca Sykimte said that it is “most likely difficult” to hit the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) target as the plan was crafted in mid-2022 when and did not take into account the slowdown in the international trading environments.
However, Sykimte emphasized that they are “confident that it will be a little bit more favorable than the projected Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC)’s target of one percent for goods and six percent for services.”
In total, she said, “We’re hoping for at least 5 percent growth in terms of our total exports.”
Under the Philippine Exports Development Plan (PEDP), the government revised its export revenue target to $126.8 billion by the end of 2023.
The PEDP also targets $143.3 billion in 2024; $163.6 billion in 2025; $186.7 billion in 2026; $212.1 billion in 2027; and $240.5 billion in 2028. This translates to an average annual growth of 11 percent of the Philippine exports of goods and services.
In 2022, the country’s total exports of goods and services reached $98 billion only.
Based on data by the Philippine Statistics Authority, merchandise exports hit $47.8 billion from January to August this year, reflecting a 6.6 percent decrease compared to the same period last year.
In terms of service exports, the sector was up by 22 percent from January to June from $800 million last year to more than $4 billion. The growth was primarily driven by travel services.
Similarly, other exports in services under information technology and business process management (IT-BPM), telecommunications, computer information services, and other business services were up by four to nine percent. However, manufacturing exports were down by 23 percent.
Meanwhile, the DTI said that based on the country’s performance in August, the Philippines is the only economy in Asia that grew in August with 4.2 percent growth from the same month last year.
Other Asian countries like Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, China, Singapore, and Malaysia, all posted slower growth in exports.
Despite the 6.6 percent decline in export performance for the January-August period, Sykimte said that the Philippines came after Japan with 2.1 percent growth, China with a 5.1 percent decline, and Thailand with a 5.4 percent decline.
Malaysia was also down by 7.8 percent, Vietnam was down by 9.6 percent, and Indonesia was down by 11.8 percent. Additionally, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan also posted double-digit decreases.
“If you look at the numbers, we are a bit better compared to other countries,” DTI Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo emphasized.
Sykimte said the merchandise exports were primarily driven by the electronics sector, though it has declined by four percent from the same period last year.
Further, Sykimte also shared that export sales from international trade promo initiatives in Canada generated $46 million; $10 million in export sales in Germany; $3 million in export sales in Malaysia; and $10.6 million in export sales from the ANUGA Fair.
Meanwhile, local shows such as the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Convention and Exhibition (PSECE) generated $1.1 million in export sales; $3.7 million in export sales from the coconut pavilion at the Manila FAME; and P70 million or $1.2 million in export sales from the Mining Philippines International Conference and Exhibition.