The country’s exports could grow 5 to 6 percent in 2024 as the electronic goods expand its shares and the United States economic growth rebounds, according to an official of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (PHILEXPORT).
PHILEXPORT chairman George Barcelon said they are hopeful that 2024 will be better compared to this year as the inflation issue has been mitigated and fuel and commodity prices have gone down.
“We are talking to some of the exporters, they are hopeful. Probably, if we can get a midpoint of 5 to 6 percent increase, I think it would be good. One of the key exports, in electronics, they (industry players) are expanding…If we may not immediately feel it, but they are expanding,” he said.
Barcelon said electronics exports account for about 40 percent of the country’s total exports.
“I think the electronics sector is the one that will push up the numbers,” he said. “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. So definitely, the exports of which, what I hear from this sector is that they are filling up their capacity.”
Barcelon said that aside from electronics, some export sectors have been “doing well” including furniture.
“The garments were not really major player but we do have our market in Europe because we have the GSP (Generalized Scheme of Preferences) Plus. So with GSP Plus, there are about 6,000 items that give the Philippines an advantage without tax. This has been highly used by our exporters so those factors can really boost up the export,” he added.
Barcelon sees a rise in the country’s exports next year after total value exports declined by 7.8 percent in January to October 2023 compared to the same months last year, amid the global economic slowdown.
By commodity group, electronic products accounted for 56.9 percent of the country’s total exports in October 2023, data at the Philippine Statistics Authority show.