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Philippines
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Exports posted fourth straight month of growth

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Exports grew for the fourth straight month, narrowing the trade deficit as imports continued to move in the negative territory, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

The PSA said exports increased 3.5 percent in July to $6.17 billion, on the back of higher shipments of gold, fresh bananas, machinery and transport equipment and electronics.

Merchandise imports declined 4.2 percent in July to $9.57 billion.  This reduced the trade deficit in July to $3.39 billion from $4.02 billion deficit a year ago.

The trade deficit in the first seven months also narrowed to $22.29 billion from $23.25 billion a year earlier as total exports rose 0.1 percent to $40.39 billion while imports went down 1.5 percent to $62.68 billion.

“Philippine exports remained resilient during the second quarter of 2019 despite the continuing external challenges such trade tensions between the US and China, the bleak outlook in Europe, and the uncertainty of the future of Brexit,” said Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.

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Pernia said the effects caused by the long-standing trade tensions between the United States and China were beginning to show as global manufacturing sentiment continued to falter with manufacturing purchasing manager indexes for powerhouses like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan sustaining declines in July. 

“The country’s manufacturing sector is expected to sustain its growth despite the overall decline in global manufacturing. We are optimistic as we see a reduction of global oil prices, the recent cuts in electricity rates, and the lower import costs due to the appreciation of the peso,” said Pernia. 

He said that sustaining this optimism may find relevance in the government’s goal of attracting foreign investments in the country. 

Pernia said the timely conclusion of the negotiations of the Philippine-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership would further expand trade and investment opportunities for the Philippines.

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