As reported by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the total merchandise exports estimated at US$3,951 million in November 2007 dropped by 2.0 percent compared to US$4,031 in November 2006.

Electronic products, the country’s top export which comprised 61.3 percent of the total exports, weakened by 4.5 percent in contrast to the 11.0 percent growth registered in the same month last year. Other commodities in the list of top ten exports, which accounts for 17.9 percent of the total, include (a) articles of apparel and clothing accessories (b) cathodes and sections of cathodes of refined copper; (c) petroleum products; (d) woodcrafts and furniture; (e) ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles aircrafts and ships;  (f) coconut oil; (g) gold; (h) other products manufactured from materials on consignment basis; and (i) metal components.

In terms of contribution to the negative growth in exports, the biggest share came from electronic products at 2.8 percentage points, followed by cathodes and sections of cathodes of refined copper, and articles of apparel and clothing accessories at 1.5 and 1.0 percentage points, respectively.  On the other hand, gold and petroleum products eased off the negative growth by 0.8 percentage point each, followed by coconut oil and tuna at 0.4 percentage point each. 

Among the top ten exports, gold posted the highest increment at 188.1 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Other top gainers were petroleum products at 52.4 percent and coconut oil at 36.1. Conversely, other products manufactured from materials imported on consignment basis, cathodes and sections of cathodes of refined copper, and articles of apparel and clothing accessories went down by 39.8, 38.1, and 20.6 percent, respectively.

The biggest markets for exports in November 2007 were the USA with 19.0 percent share, Japan with 15.0, and People’s Republic of China with 11.0.  Compared to 2006 figures on percent share, USA inched by 0.9 percentage point, while Japan and China contracted by 0.6 and 1.3 percentage points, respectively.
 
Monthly data on merchandise exports are generated from the compilation of foreign trade statistics, which is one of the designated statistical activities of the NSO under Executive Order No. 352, Designation of Statistical Activities That Will Generate Critical Data for Decision-Making of the Government and the Private Sector, issued on July 1, 1996.  Per EO, data on exports should be made available 45 days after the reference month.  The NSO released the November 2007 data on exports on January 10, 2008, earlier by four days than the target.  It may be noted that the top ten exports listed in the NSO foreign trade statistics are different from the principal merchandise exports in the national accounts, which are based on the 1988 list of top exports to maintain the national accounts link series over a period of time. For further inquiries, please contact Ms. Rosie B. Sta. Ana, Chief of the Economic Indicators and Indices Division of the NSO, at telefax numbered 716-39-35 and e-mail address r.staana@census.gov.ph.

Link to data source:  http://www.census.gov.ph/data/pressrelease/2008/ex1107tx.html