Electronics still afloat despite shrinking exports

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MANILA  — Exports of electronic products remained afloat despite the country’s total revenue on merchandise exports that shrank in January to May period of this year.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that five-month exports revenue of electronics sector grew by 2.9 percent, even with the fragile global demand, to USD10.92 billion from USD10.61 billion in the same period in 2014.

Exports of semiconductors, which accounted for 70 percent of the industry’s exports, increased by 7.0 percent to USD7.84 billion in January to May this year from USD7.

32 billion last year.

Exports of electronics subsectors such as office equipment surging by 110 percent to USD277 million, telecommunication exports jumping by 20 percent to USD132 million, and the 11 percent exports growth of communication and radar to USD123 million have supported the positive export performance of the whole electronics sector.

On the other hand, negative growth was posted in exports of consumer electronics, down by 22 percent; electronic data processing and medical and industrial instrumentation, both declined by 14 percent; control and instrumentation, down by 8.0 percent; and automotive electronics, down by 5.

0 percent.

The electronics industry targets to have a 5.0 to 7.0 percent exports revenue growth for the full year of 2015 to about USD27.6 billion from USD25.8 billion revenue in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the country’s total exports revenue for the first five months of 2015 decreased by 5.0 percent to USD23.52 billion from USD24.78 billion in the same period in 2014.

Top exports destinations for the month of May alone were Japan with exports amounting to USD1.21 billion; United States of America with USD696 million; China with USD529 million; Hong Kong with USD527 million; and Singapore with USD301 million.