PHL exports contract in June - NSO

Philippine exports contracted by double digits in June, the National Statistics Office reported on Wednesday. In its latest report, the NSO said revenues from exports in June slipped 10.2 percent to $4.092.26 million, the lowest since the contraction of 16.8 percent in October 2009. Compared to export revenues in May 2011, June exports were also lower by 0.4 percent. For the year's first half, Philippine exports grew 4.1 percent to $24.721 billion. The decline in exports was attributed to the lower receipts from electronic products, which accounted for more than half of the country's products sold abroad. "Accounting for 54 percent of the total exports revenue in June 2011, electronic products emerged as the country's top export with total receipts of $2.211. It decreased by 23.9 percent from $2.905 billion registered in June 2010," the NSO said. The Philippines' other top products were articles of apparel and clothing accessories, woodcrafts and furniture, petroleum products, coconut oil, gold, and metal components, among others. Japan was the country's top market, followed by the US and China. Other largest markets were Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Germany and The Netherlands, respectively. --CMA/OMG, GMA News