DESPITE the flat growth projection set by the semiconductor and electronics industry, the largest export commodity group in the country, the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) said the country’s export revenues for 2023 are seen to surpass the $78.98-billion export earnings recorded in 2022.
While Philexport President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. did not divulge any figure, he expressed confidence the country’s export earnings will increase in 2023 from the figure recorded in 2022.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country’s export sales in 2022 amounted to US$78.98 billion.
“I might be extrapolating, but it will be coming from a lower base so [it will rise a little] in percentage but it will not be dramatic,” the Philexport chief said at a media briefing on Thursday held in Pasig City. Ortiz-Luis Jr. explained that whenever they compute the export targets, it suddenly becomes “very dynamic.” He emphasized that while the country’s exports are growing, “it’s growing very slowly.”
He attributed the slow growth in exports to the effect of the ongoing geopolitics, which he said affects the country’s supply chain because the country’s biggest trade partners were affected. For one, he said China’s trade slowed down.
While the Philexport chief did not mention the specific target for 2023, he said the supposed export earnings target for 2020 was downgraded, hence it is now the target for 2025.
Similarly, Ortiz-Luis said electronics exports, the commodity group which accounts for the largest share in the exports pie, is also bearing the brunt of the geopolitical conflicts.
In fact, last Wednesday, Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Foundation, Inc. (Seipi) President Danilo C. Lachica said the industry is revising its growth target for electronics exports from 5 percent to zero percent for 2023 due to the ongoing geopolitical conflicts such as the trade war between the United States and China.
“So as of June, we’re 7 percent down and we have, however, revised our growth forecast from 5 percent for the year to flat zero, because realistically we’re down 7 percent,” Lachica told reporters in an interview on Wednesday.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Seipi said electronics exports from January to June 2023 went down by 6.99 percent from US$22.78 billion in 2022 to US$21.19 billion in 2023. This is equivalent to 60.63 percent of the total Philippine exports.
Meanwhile, United Kingdom-based think tank Oxford Economics noted last August 25 that “demand for Asian goods will see some further weakness in the coming months.”
“And while one piece of better news is that the global semiconductor cycle has turned, the tailwind from its initial recovery is likely to be mild,” the UK-based think tank noted. (Full story here: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2023/08/31/seipi-adjusts-to-0-growth-goal-in-electronic-exports/).
Image credits: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg