The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Monday exports of goods and services hit a record $103.6 billion in 2023, up by 5.71 percent from $98 billion in 2022.
It said the latest data confirm the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recent release of the latest balance of payments and international investment position manual (BPM6) data.
Export Management Bureau (EMB) director Bianca Sykimte said the record figure was driven by the continued growth of the services sector.
The strong performance of the IT-business process management (IT-BPM) industry and the turn-around in tourism revenues propped-up exports last year.
She said that while services were on an uptrend, goods exports faced challenges. Electronics exports declined 3.4 percent or $955 million to $922.43 million 2023.
Lackluster demand for agricultural products resulted in a decline in merchandise exports. Declines on coconut products exports, other agro-based items, mineral products and petroleum affected the merchandise export performance, while fruits and vegetables showed an increase in demand.
Services exports went up by 17.4 percent, driving the overall export growth. Travel services contributed nearly 70 percent to the incremental services export receipts in 2023, followed by other business services.
Telecommunications, computer and information services and transport services contributed to the overall growth of services exports.
The services export sector increased its share in the gross domestic product (GDP) from 12 percent in 2022 to 13 percent in 2023.
The DTI said with the weak external demand in the goods sector, total exports accounted for 27 percent of the GDP last year.
The US remained the top destination for Philippine merchandise exports, accounting for $11.5 billion or 15.7 percent of the total. Japan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore followed as top export markets.