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Philippines exports fell for the 15th straight month in a row in June as merchandise exports witnessed due to the persistent weak demand from major export markets.
Total export receipts fell to USD4.8 billion last June from USD5.4 billion in the same month last year due to lower sales across commodity groups, data released by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed Thursday.
Total export revenues in the first half also fell 7.5 percent to USD26.83 billion from USD29 billion in the same period a year ago. Outbound shipment of electronic products, which accounted for 51.1 percent of total export revenues in June, contracted 5.1 percent to USD2.429 billion in June from USD2.558 billion registered in the same month last year.
Exports to traditional markets (Japan, US, China, Singapore, Germany, Thailand, Korea and Netherlands) went down, except for Hong Kong and Taiwan, which posted a 3.2 percent and 2.2 percent growth, respectively.
Meanwhile, almost all Asian countries, except for Vietnam and India, experienced weak, albeit improving, export performance in June.
"We must continue to improve our efforts in ensuring an enabling environment where industries can upgrade and improve their competitiveness," said Ernesto M. Pernia, Economic Planning Secretary.
