NEDA: RP August exports among Southeast Asia’s highest

The Philippines ranked among the highest in exports growth in East and Southeast Asia in August and may exceed its export target for the year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Tuesday. “With a 36.6 percent year-on-year increase, the Philippines joined Vietnam as top performers among neighboring Asian economies in terms of export growth in August," according to NEDA officer-in-charge Rolando Tungpalan. “At this rate, we are optimistic that the country could exceed the 2010 exports growth target of 15 percent, Tungpalan said. Vietnam exports grew 48.4 percent in the same period, while others Asian peers that recorded strong exports include Hong Kong SAR (36 percent), China (34.4 percent), Indonesia (30 percent), and South Korea (27.7 percent). Philippine exports for the month totaled $4.7 billion, led by shipments of manufactured goods, which grew by 36.3 percent, and agro-based products, which grew by 75.4 percent. “This marked ten consecutive months of positive year-on-year growth since November 2009," NEDA said. Eight-month receipts From January to August this year, cumulative export receipts amounted to $33 billion, up by 37.3 percent from the same period in 2009. Exports of manufactured goods, which grew 36.3 percent in August this year compared to last year, were supported by the 45.3 percent growth in electronic products. “The brisk outward shipments of semiconductor components and devices reflected the strong growth in global sales in August, which increased by 32.6 percent based on figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)," NEDA said. The markets for personal computers and wireless products, “along with infrastructure expansion in emerging markets, particularly China and India, continue to drive sales," Tungpalan said I n the report, quoting the SIA. Semiconductor exports are expected to post positive growth in the coming months, with the North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry recording a book-to-bill ratio of 1.17 in August, Tungpalan noted. Agro-based products Meanwhile, coconut and sugar products led the growth in agro-based exports. “Local exporters of coconut products took advantage of favorable prices in the world market, which saw copra and coconut oil prices increasing by more than 50 percent from a year ago, to record a 148.1 percent uptick," Tungpalan said. “Sugar exporters, likewise, were enticed by the 34.3 percent hike in US sugar prices from August last year, prompting an increase in the value of shipments from a low $620,000 to $14.4 million in August 2010," the NEDA OIC said. Singapore, with a 20.3 percent share, was the single biggest buyer of Philippine exports for the third month in a row. Following Singapore were the US (13.5 percent), Japan (12.7 percent), China (12.4 percent), and Hong Kong (8.5 percent). Exports to the ASEAN accounted for 27.6 percent of total exports, NEDA said. — VS, GMANews.TV