MANILA: Philippine exports declined for the fifth consecutive month in August at a faster-than-expected pace, preliminary figures from the Philippine Statistical Authority showed Friday. Exports fell 6.3 percent year-over-year in August, exceeding economists’ expectations for a 2.9 percent drop. In July, exports had fallen 1.82 percent.
The negative growth was mainly brought about by the decrease of six major commodities out of the top ten commodities for the month, the agency said. Shipments of other mineral products tumbled 63.2 percent in August from a year ago and that for Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories plunged by 39.3 percent.
Meanwhile, exports of electronic products, accounting for 45.9 percent of the total exports, climbed 3.3 percent annually in August. Japan remained country’s top destination of exports during August, comprising 20.0 percent share to total exports, though it declined by 1.6 percent from the previous year.
