Demand for electronics and semiconductor parts boosted Philippine exports in October, the Department of Trade and Industry said Thursday.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed merchandise exports grew 20 percent in October from a year ago and outpaced the 7.5-percent expansion of imports
Electronics remained the country’s top export at $5.1 billion, accounting for 66.3 percent of the total. These included components/devices, electronic data processing, office equipment, consumer electronics and telecommunication. Electronic exports jumped 39.6 percent to $5.1 billion in October.
The PSA said export sales in October reached $7.7 billion, up from $6.4 billion in the same month last year. Total exports in the first 10 months also went up by 6.3 percent to $66.0 billion from $62.1 billion a year ago.
The DTI said the latest export performance was driven by growth in outbound shipments of semiconductor components/devices worth $4.3 billion, up by 62.7 percent from $2.6 billion in 2021.
Shipments of control and instrumentation, which were rather stable throughout the pandemic, went up 38.5 percent in October, hitting sales of $705.5 million in the first 10 months, or twice more than exports of $325.8 million in 2019.
Exports of consumer electronics and medical/industrial instrumentation posted double-digit growth rates of 20.7 percent to $774 million and 15 percent to $171.2 million respectively in the 10-month period.
About 21 of the 48 Philippine export commodity groups drove the resurgence of the export sector, registering consistent increases in export sales, led by electronics, other mineral products, other manufactures, coconut oil and pineapple and pineapple products.
Hong Kong emerged as the Philippines’ top export destination in October with export receipts amounting to $1.3 billion, up from $865.6 million in October 2021. This was followed by the US with $1.2 billion, Japan with $999.7 million, China with $959.6 million and Singapore with $438.0 million.
The Philippines also ranked as one of the best performing exporting economies in October, surpassing the export growth of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam.
