Philippine exports fastest growing in Asia
Philippine merchandise exports jumped up 7.64 per cent in 2012, making the easternmost ASEAN country the fastest growing export market in Asia, Philippine Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters at the end of the Philippine Economic Briefing on February 13.
While the over 7 per cent growth rate was just off of the 8 per cent target, Domingo remains confident that the Philippines is in for a banner year in 2013, predicting exports to expand a dramatic 10 per cent.
The surge in exports is being lead by incoming investment into the manufacturing sector, which is expected to continue into 2013.
“In the third and fourth quarters, manufacturing was the fastest-growing sector, GDP-wise. It surpassed services, which for the past ten years have supported growth” Domingo said, as reported in Malaya, adding that “based on the registrations at the Board of Investments and Philippine Economic Zone Authority, we surpassed slightly 2011’s record $16.5 billion investments.”
Domingo also noted that inbound trade missions increased 60 per cent last year compared with 2011.
Major hurdles standing in the way of reaching 2013’s optimistic growth levels are the dwindling amount of industrial land and rising minimum wage.
In Laguna, Batangas and Cebu, developers have already run out of space, Domingo said.
Additionally, the Philippines raised minimum wages in November 2012 by a cost of living allowance of about 15 per cent of the basic wage in Metro Manila. The new rates drove daily minmium wages up to 419 pesos ($10.3) for manufacturing workers in the National Capital Region, which includes Metro Manila and other large urban centers in Luzon.
Under the current system, daily minimum wages range from as low as $3.30 daily in retail or service establishments with 10 or less workers to as high as $10.37 daily for a non-agricultural worker in the national capital region.
While this wage hike would still place many Filipinos below the poverty line (measured at $15 a day for a family of five), salaries are still higher in the Philippines than in competing ASEAN nations, such as Indonesia and Vietnam.
The Philippines’ will continue looking to Japan for stimulating its growth, which is currently the archipelago’s largest investment source and trading partner.
[caption id="attachment_7029" align="alignleft" width="300"] Click to enlarge[/caption] Philippine merchandise exports jumped up 7.64 per cent in 2012, making the easternmost ASEAN country the fastest growing export market in Asia, Philippine Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters at the end of the Philippine Economic Briefing on February 13. While the over 7 per cent growth rate was just off of the 8 per cent target, Domingo remains confident that the Philippines is in for a banner year in 2013, predicting exports to expand a dramatic 10 per cent. The surge in exports is being lead by incoming investment into the manufacturing...
Philippine merchandise exports jumped up 7.64 per cent in 2012, making the easternmost ASEAN country the fastest growing export market in Asia, Philippine Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters at the end of the Philippine Economic Briefing on February 13.
While the over 7 per cent growth rate was just off of the 8 per cent target, Domingo remains confident that the Philippines is in for a banner year in 2013, predicting exports to expand a dramatic 10 per cent.
The surge in exports is being lead by incoming investment into the manufacturing sector, which is expected to continue into 2013.
“In the third and fourth quarters, manufacturing was the fastest-growing sector, GDP-wise. It surpassed services, which for the past ten years have supported growth” Domingo said, as reported in Malaya, adding that “based on the registrations at the Board of Investments and Philippine Economic Zone Authority, we surpassed slightly 2011’s record $16.5 billion investments.”
Domingo also noted that inbound trade missions increased 60 per cent last year compared with 2011.
Major hurdles standing in the way of reaching 2013’s optimistic growth levels are the dwindling amount of industrial land and rising minimum wage.
In Laguna, Batangas and Cebu, developers have already run out of space, Domingo said.
Additionally, the Philippines raised minimum wages in November 2012 by a cost of living allowance of about 15 per cent of the basic wage in Metro Manila. The new rates drove daily minmium wages up to 419 pesos ($10.3) for manufacturing workers in the National Capital Region, which includes Metro Manila and other large urban centers in Luzon.
Under the current system, daily minimum wages range from as low as $3.30 daily in retail or service establishments with 10 or less workers to as high as $10.37 daily for a non-agricultural worker in the national capital region.
While this wage hike would still place many Filipinos below the poverty line (measured at $15 a day for a family of five), salaries are still higher in the Philippines than in competing ASEAN nations, such as Indonesia and Vietnam.
The Philippines’ will continue looking to Japan for stimulating its growth, which is currently the archipelago’s largest investment source and trading partner.
