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JULY
export earnings increased by 4.5 percent to $4.2 billion
on the back of increased shipments of electronic
products, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The NSO
data released Tuesday showed that total receipts from
merchandise exports from January to July posted an
increase of 6.3 percent to $28.73 billion, from $27.03
billion during the same seven-month period in 2006.
July’s
top export, electronic products, raked in $2.48 billion,
or a 5.1-percent increase from the $2.36 billion in July
2006. Electronics accounted for 59.2 percent of export
revenues in July.
Compared
with shipments from January to July 2006, however,
export earnings this year grew at a slower pace, in line
with the expectations of economists that the appetite
for local electronic products will wane due to a
possible slowdown in the economy of the country’s main
markets, like the United States. The government has
targeted an 11-percent growth by year-end, but
economists said this could be difficult to meet
considering exports in July were comparatively low.
Economists were expecting a 5-percent increase.
University of the Philippines economist Prof. Benjamin
Diokno observed that the US economic slowdown coupled by
a strong peso are negatively affecting exports, and
additionally noted that this is evident in the
manufacturing ouput data, which has consistently shown a
decline.
“We
should really prepare for a slowdown until year-end and
possible until next year,” said Diokno.
University of Asia and the Pacific economist Prof. Peter
Lee U agreed and said the export target may not be
likely met even if exports recover in the third quarter.
Lee U
also said it is quite difficult to see at this time if
exports will continue to slow down until next year. “It
depends on what happens in the US next year. But I
believe the US central bank is already looking at ways
to prevent the subprime credit crunch from turning into
another financial crisis.”
Other
top export performers in July are apparel and clothing
accessories, petroleum products, woodcrafts and
furniture, and wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft
and ships.
Shipments in July to
China
climbed at the fastest pace since January, offsetting
slowing sales to the US. Sales to China jumped 48
percent in July from a year earlier to $492 million
after adding 12 percent a month earlier.
Shipments to the
US
rose 0.7 percent to $768 million in July from a year
earlier. Sales to Japan, the No. 2 buyer, slipped 1.5
percent to $636 million.
“China,
which we think will replace the US as the biggest
contributor to global growth this year, is giving a
strong tailwind to Asian exports,’’ said Prakash Sakpal,
an economist at ING Bank NV in Singapore. (With
Bloomberg) |
