FIVE-MONTH EXPORTS EXPAND BY 22.7 PERCENT
Value of exports for the first five months of 1997 grew by 22.7 percent to $9.558 billion, an increase of $1.769 million from $7.789 billion recorded a year earlier.
Receipts from merchandise exports for May 1997 alone posted a 22.2 percent gain as receipts reached $1.970 billion, surpassing $1.612 billion in May 1996 by $357 million.
ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS TOP MAY EXPORTS
Accounting for 44.8 percent of the aggregate export revenue for May 1997 was Electronics and Components with reported income rising by 32.4 percent to $881.75 million from $665.91 million last year.
The second biggest earner with a 9.6 percent share was Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories which had a combined income of $189.87 million, a less than one percent increase from $189.76 million last year.
Receipts from Input/Output/Peripheral Units, representing 7.7 percent of the total, grew by 1,178.5 percent to $150.74 million from $11.79 million last year.
Ignition Wiring Set and Other Wiring Sets in Vehicles, Aircrafts and Ships moved up to number four from fifth place last month with receipts placed at $43.93 million, or up by 24.9 percent from $35.17 million last year.
Woodcraft and Furniture earned $34.75 million, or 3.0 percent higher than $33.73 million last year.
Other major exports for the month were: Other Products Manufactured from Materials Imported on Consignment Basis, $30.38 million; Gold, 25.53 million; Metal Components, 22.61 million; Bananas (fresh), $19.56 million; and Coconut Oil, $18.54 million.
Combined revenue from the top ten merchandise exports amounted to $1,417.66 million or 72.0 percent of the total.
RECEIPTS FROM MANUFACTURED GOODS UP BY 28.1 PERCENT
Led by electronics, machinery and transport equipment, and garments, manufactured goods accounted for 88.1 percent of the total and went up by 28.1 percent to $1.736 billion from $1.355 billion last year.
Revenue from Agro-Based Products dropped by 22.9 percent to $84.99 million from $110.26 million in 1996. Receipts from other agro-based products amounted to $38.81 million representing a 10.4 percent drop from $43.22 million last year.
Representing 2.8 percent of the aggregate value, Mineral Products, notably copper metal, made up the third biggest commodity group with a 21.0 percent increase to $55.05 million from $45.51 million last year.
US SHARE OF EXPORTS POSTED AT 34.1 PERCENT
The United States continued to be the biggest market as receipts accounting for 34.1 percent of the total reached $672.35 million, up by 23.4 percent from $544.70 million last year.
Purchases made by Japan, still the second biggest market with a 16.7 percent share, amounted to $328.53 million, or an increase of 10.3 percent over $297.91 million last year.
The Netherlands was the third biggest client with total exports valued at $121.47 million, an 85.2 percent increase over $65.58 million last year. This value represented 6.2 percent of total merchandise exports.
Singapore, accounting for 5.8 percent of total exports, bought $114.21 million worth of merchandise goods, which was 19.9 percent higher than $95.24 million last year.
Rounding up the list of top ten markets for May were: Hongkong, $98.97 million; Taiwan, $91.52 million; Germany, $90.77 million; Thailand, $83.58 million; United Kingdom of Great Britain, $74.06 million; and Malaysia, $48.62 million.
Aggregate receipts from these top ten markets amounted to $1,724.08 million or 87.5 percent of the total.