TWO-MONTH MERCHANDISE EXPORTS POSTS 1.3 PERCENT INCREASE

Aggregate receipts from merchandise exports for the first two months of year 2001 grew by 1.3 percent to $5.694 billion from $5.619 billion during the same period in 2000.

For the month of February, value of exports worth $2.805 billion fell by 3.3 percent compared to $2.902 billion last year.

ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS FALL BY 7.5 PERCENT

Receipts from Electronics Components, accounting for 56.4 percent of the aggregate export revenue for February 2001 went down by 7.5 percent to $1.581 billion from $1.709 billion a year ago.

Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories remained as the second top export with a combined share of 6.7 percent and an aggregate receipt of $186.90 million or 2.5 percent lower than $191.67 million last year.

Third top earner for the month was Coconut Oil valued at $45.38 million, or 39.9 percent higher than $32.43 million in February last year.

Woodcrafts and Furniture ranked fourth with sales amounting to $45.30 million or a year-on-year increase of 14.0 percent from $39.73 million in 2000.

Revenue from Ignition Wiring Set and Other Wiring Sets Used in Vehicles, Aircraft and Ships declined by 9.2 percent to $42.50 million from $46.81 million in February 2000.

Metal Components, with a 1.3 percent share reported sales of $37.28 million or 10.2 percent higher than $33.82 million last year.

Rounding up the list of the top exports for the month of February 2001 were Other Products Manufactured from Materials Imported on Consignment Basis, $33.55 million; Petroleum Products, $33.02 million; Bananas (Fresh), $26.34 million; andCathodes & Sections of Cathodes, of Refined Copper,$21.72 million.

Aggregate receipt for the top ten exports amounted to $2.053 billion, or 73.2 percent of the total export.

Fig. 1. Philippine Top Exports in February: 2000 & 2001
( F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar )

MANUFACTURED GOODS DROPPED BY 2.0 PERCENT

Accounting for 90.0 percent of the total receipt, exports ofManufactured Goods declined by 2.0 percent as sales registered $2.523 billion, down from $2.575 billion a year earlier.

Income from Agro-Based and Other Agro-Based Productscombined for $135.12 million or 4.8 percent of the total. Compared to last year, aggregate revenue for this commodity group fell by 4.4 percent from $141.34 million in 2000.

Exports of Petroleum Products went up by 53.5 percent to $33.03 million while receipts from Mineral Products andSpecial Transactions suffered respective drops placed at 30.6 percent and 29.2 percent respectively.

Fig. 2. Philippine Exports by Commodity Group in February: 2000 & 2001
( F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar ) 

EXPORTS TO US ACCOUNT FOR 27.1 PERCENT

Accounting for 27.1 percent of aggregate receipts for the month, value of exports to the United States placed at $759.66 million declined by 13.6 percent from reported figure of $878.76 million last year.

Japan followed with a 17.4 percent share. Value of shipment worth $487.35 million rose by 9.2 percent from $446.21 million a year ago.

Exports to Netherlands, the third biggest market accounting for 8.8 percent of the total, registered a 0.9 percent increase in sales amounting to $246.12 million, up from $243.98 million a year earlier.

The fourth biggest market for the month was Singapore with purchases amounting to $231.76 million or 8.3 percent of the total. Compared to last year, receipts increased by 11.9 percent from $207.14 million.

Other top markets for February 2001 were Thailand, $167.89 million; Taiwan, $151.40 million; Germany, $135.05 million;Hongkong, $132.64 million; United Kingdom of Great Britain, $99.61 million; and Malaysia, $70.67 million.

Total export receipts from the top ten markets amounted to $2.482 billion or 88.5 percent of the total.

Fig. 3. Philippine Top Exports by Country in February 2001
( F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar )

Source: National Statistics Office
              Manila, Philippines