A business group expects Philippine merchandise exports to grow 5 percent to 6 percent in 2024 on the expected recovery of the global electronics sector.
Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PhilExport) chairman George Barcelon expressed hope 2024 would be better compared to this year, with easing inflation and declining commodity prices.
“We are talking to some of the exporters, they are hopeful. Probably, if we can get at the midpoint of 5 -percent to 6-percent increase, I think it would be good. In one of the key exports—electronics, they [industry players] are expanding. We may not immediately feel it, but they are expanding,” he said.
Barcelon said electronics exports account for about 40 percent of the total exports.
“I think the electronics sector is the one that will push up the numbers. The US economy, if you noticed, is bouncing back especially in the electronic sectors because AI [artificial intelligence] is now popular, and these are all really electronics. So it is being hyped and the stock market seems to reflect it. From what I hear from this sector, they are filling up their capacity,” he said.
Barcelon said that aside from electronics, other export sectors were “doing well” including furniture and garments.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that merchandise exports fell 7.8 percent in the first 10 months of 2023 to $60.91 billion from $66.08 billion a year earlier.
The Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) agreed with PhilExport that the most pressing challenge for business in 2023 was the high inflation rate, followed by the alleged pass-through fees imposed by some local government units (LGUs).
ECOP president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said inflation surged to around 8 percent in the early part of 2023 before declining in the subsequent months. He expressed optimism that inflation would fall to about 4 percent in 2024.
Hen said another major challenge of the business sector is the fees supposedly levied by some LGUs to allow passage for deliveries.
“Some suppliers, particularly the small ones coming from the north, have to pay up to 15 percent of the cost,” he said. He did not identify the LGUs.
He said small suppliers were hurting from the additional cost which might force them to pass the burden to the consumer or simply stop doing business.
