TOKYO: Philippine exports in July fell 1.8 percent, almost unchanged from June, the statistics office said on Thursday.
Electronics and semiconductors, the top category in shipments accounting for nearly 53 percent of total exports for the month, rose an annual 34.6 percent, the highest in at least a year and a half, according to Reuters data. Other key export sectors in July were other manufactures, woodcrafts and furniture, and machinery and transport equipment.
Exports to Japan, the country’s top destination, fell an annual 14.6 percent, after the previous month’s 29 percent rise. Shipments to second biggest market China climbed 24.1 percent while exports to the United States edged up 0.4 percent. The central bank expects exports to grow 5 percent this year, followed by 6 percent growth in 2016.
The industry group Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc, or SEIPI, had lowered its export growth target this year to 0-4 percent from the 3-5 percent estimate made in July. The Southeast Asian nation provides about 10 percent of the world’s semiconductor manufacturing services, including for mobile phone chips and microprocessors.
