THE Philippines’ merchandise exports surged by 15.7 percent in February 2024, fueled by improving trade prospects.
Based on preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s merchandise exports recorded US$5.9 billion compared to $5.1 billion in the same month last year.
This significant growth, according to a top official of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is a promising indicator for the Philippine economy, driven largely by the robust upturn in the semiconductor industry.
In the first two months of the year, total merchandise exports rose by 12.3 percent to $11.8 billion, up from $10.5 billion in the same period in 2023.
“The robust export performance in February, following the year-on-year increase of 9.1 percent in the previous month, marks a promising start to the year for the Philippine export sector. The electronics sector is evidently recovering, even catching up with the export figures from two years ago,” said DTI Secretary Fred Pascual in a statement.
“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,” the trade chief added.
Electronic products, which constitute nearly 63 percent of the country’s exports, expanded by 26.8 percent to $3.4 billion in February 2024. This growth was primarily driven by the 31.9 percent increase in semiconductor exports, which reached $2.65 billion, marking the highest value of semiconductor exports recorded in February over the past decade.
Similarly, global semiconductor sales also saw a significant 16.3 percent increase in February 2024, totaling $46.2 billion.
The Semiconductor Industry Association highlighted this as the largest year-on-year growth since May 2022, projecting a continued market growth throughout the year.
Among the Philippines’ top export markets, the United States, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, the Netherlands and Taiwan recorded double-digit increases in imports from the Philippines.
Hong Kong notably recorded the largest increase, with imports growing by 45.6 percent year-on-year and 38.8 percent year-to-date. In contrast, Singapore’s saw a significant decline in imports from the Philippines for both year-on-year and year-to-date periods. / KOC