The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) expects to see a sustained growth in the country's electronics exports following the latest exports performance.

'The rebound in export sales for the first time since November last year could be attributed to the electronics exports which have picked up by 6.7 after plummeting since December last year,' Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said.

'This makes us optimistic that the slump has bottomed out and we can expect for a sustained growth in electronics exports in line with our overall export growth target under the new Philippine Export Development Plan,' he said.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority earlier this week showed that the country's merchandise exports rose by 1.9 percent to $6.44 billion in May from $6.32 billion in the same month last year.

Electronics remain the Philippines' biggest export, accounting for 57.5 percent of total exports in May.

The value of electronics exports rose to $3.70 billion in May from $3.47 billion in the same month last year.

The DTI said 12 out of 48 Philippine export commodity groups continue to drive the resurgence of the country's export with consistent increases in export sales compared to 2022, 2021, 2020, and pre-pandemic average from 2017 to 2019.

These export commodity groups include electronics, other mineral products, coconut oil, gold, copper concentrates, pineapple and pineapple products, travel goods and handbags, processed tropical fruits, seaweeds and carrageenan, Christmas decor, fertilizers, and nickel.

The DTI said it also hopes to see continued growth in the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which is a gauge of manufacturing activities.

According to SandP Global Philippines, the Philippines' PMI was at 50.9 in June, down from 52.2 in May.

A PMI reading above 50 indicates overall increase, while below 50 denotes contraction.

'We hope to sustain the growth of our PMI as we prioritize addressing challenges to create a more stable and sustainable manufacturing industry, which we recognize as critical in order to increase the country's competitiveness in the global market and maintain its position as a trusted supplier of goods,' Pascual said.

 

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