Exports seen to double in 5 years
By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio (The Philippine Star) Updated March 14, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Exports are expected to go up by 97 percent in five years time to $120 billion as the country continues to tap different markets, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported over the weekend.
In an interview, Senen Perlada, director of DTI’s Bureau of Export and Trade Promotion (BETP), said that the Philippine Economic Development Plan (PEDP) is ready for presentation.
He said the government expects exports to grow to $120 billion by 2016. Exports for 2010 stood at $61 billion.
Perlada said that for 2016, services will make up 20 percent of the exports.
He noted that as opposed to the hollowing out phenomenon experienced a few years back, there will now be a hollowing in from China. This means that firms are investing in the Philippines because it is cheaper to locate here than in China. This is especially true for garments, Perlada said.
Philippine exports in 2010 fully recovered from the 2009 slump, providing fresh impetus to the country’s export development strategy, DTI said. The 2010 exports growth was the highest recorded export performance in 11 years based on industry data.
Data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) recently showed that Philippine exports from January to December 2010 reached $51.39 billion, an increase of 33.69 percent from the previous year.
“The strong showing in 2010 of merchandise exports exceeded everyone’s expectations. The challenge is to build on the strengths of the current export business in the next three years to level up our export performance and double up three years after by seizing opportunities for the country’s agri-business and resource-based products,” said Trade and Secretary Gregory L. Domingo.
The export performance last year, Domingo added, is an indicator that the export strategy of enhancing com-petitiveness and opening market access through trade agreements are on track. “But we still have a lot of work to do in building export capacity and utilizing opportunities for trade.”
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