Electronics boost February exports
Electronic products constitute nearly 63 percent of the country’s exports this year
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Electronic products constitute nearly 63 percent of the country’s exports this year
The semiconductor industry drove the 15.7 percent increase in merchandise exports in February worth $5.9 billion from $5.1 billion in the same period in 2023, based on preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA said it was the second straight monthly growth this year with total merchandise exports rising by 12.3 percent to $11.8 billion in the first two months of 2024, up from $10.5 billion in the same period last year.
Trade of electronic products, which constitute nearly 63 percent of the country’s exports, increased 26.8 percent to $3.4 billion in February 2024, driven by the 31.9 percent increase in semiconductor exports, which reached $2.65 billion, the highest value of semiconductor exports recorded in February over the past decade.
On the other hand, global semiconductor sales also significantly increased by 16.3 percent in February 2024, to $46.2 billion.
The Semiconductor Industry Association deemed the growth as the largest year-on-year increase since May 2022 and projected continued market growth throughout the year.
Among the Philippines’ top export markets are the United States, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, the Netherlands and Taiwan. Said countries recorded double-digit increases in imports from the Philippines.
Hong Kong accounted for most imports that also grew by 45.6 percent year-on-year and 38.8 percent year-to-date.
In contrast, Singapore witnessed a significant decline in imports from the Philippines for both year-on-year and year-to-date periods.
“The electronics sector is evidently recovering, even catching up with the export figures from two years ago,” Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said.
“We are hopeful that this growth momentum will be sustained in the coming months. We will continue to collaborate closely with the private sectors, government agencies, and development partners to improve the Philippines’ export environment and build on this export growth,” Pascual said, adding that it marks a promising start for the year for the Philippine export sector.
Earlier this month, the DTI led a delegation to South Korea to benchmark and learn from Korea’s support programs and initiatives as part of the Origin Management System (OMS) for the Promotion of FTAs (free trade agreements) in the Philippines Project, funded by the Korean government.
This project aims to increase the utilization by Philippine manufacturers and traders of technology and digital services, so they can significantly reduce the time and costs associated with complying with rules of origin requirements of FTAs and Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSPs).
Key features of the project include the development of an OMS, where exporters can encode relevant information in a platform that will determine if their export products qualify under the respective origin requirements of FTAs and GSP.
Another feature is an artificial intelligence-enabled Harmonized System (HS) classification tool that will enable exporters to determine the appropriate HS codes for their products.
“We see the immense potential in this project to boost the development and growth of Philippine exports by simplifying the exporting process and leveraging FTAs/GSP,” stated DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo.
“We are thankful for the support that the Korean government has extended to the Philippines to support our Philippine exporters, ahead of the entry into force of the Philippines-Korea FTA,” Rodolfo added.
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