Both merchandise exports and factory output climbed in April from a year ago, pointing to a strong growth at the start of the second quarter.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed exports went up 12.1 percent in April to $4.805 billion from $4.285 billion in the same month last year. Merchandise imports, however, fell 0.1 percent to $6.857 billion in April from $6.865 billion a year earlier.
PSA said the country still registered a trade deficit of $2.052 billion in April, despite the growth in exports.
Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia expressed optimism the country would sustain the strong performance of exports this year.
He said trade linkages to Europe and East Asia should be strengthened further as exports to these areas accounted for 62.3 percent of total export receipts. Exports to EU and East Asia grew by 36 percent and 10 percent in April 2017, respectively.
“We aim to deepen our engagement with our neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region to enhance trade and investment links,” Pernia said.
Pernia recognized positive contributions of trade connections and cited China as an example, where merchandise exports increased 27.7 percent from October 2016 to April 2017 compared with the 7.1 percent decline from January to September 2016.
“Also worth noting is the tripling of exports to the UAE and India in April. This was the third month that receipts to UAE tripled, and the second month for India,” he said.
Exports to UAE and India grew by 286.4 percent and 204.1 percent, respectively.
“We see an opportunity to strengthen bilateral ties with India as it becomes a major player in the global economy. Their large consumer base can be an important market for Philippine products,” he said.
Meanwhile, results of the monthly integrated survey of selected industries showed the volume of production index grew 5.9 percent in April, although this was slower than the 12.8-percent rise in the previous month.
“Despite the slowdown at the onset of the second quarter, manufacturing output is expected to sustain its growth following anticipated increases in demand during the harvest season and the enrolment period in schools,” said Pernia.
The growth in manufacturing output in April was attributed to the sustained production of petroleum products, transport equipment and basic metals.
Petroleum products posted a 51.7 percent increase in production due to higher demand for gasoline from Vietnam, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
“The demand for diesel is expected to increase as governments in the Middle East stock up for the Ramadan season,” Pernia said.