Philippine exports posted their biggest drop in August due to a big slip in shipments of electronics and semiconductor products.
August exports decreased 15.1% to $4.053 billion from $4.774 billion year-on-year, according to latest data from the National Statistics Office.
The August bill was also 8.5% lower than July’s $4.429 billion.
From January to August, exports however grew 0.7% to $33.239 billion from $33.021 billion during the same period last year.
Electronic products remained the country’s top export with a 51.2% share of the total or $2.074 billion. Receipts for this commodity grouping skidded 30.6% from last year’s $2.989 billion.
Articles of apparel and clothing accessories were the second top export earners in August at $173.44 million, accounting for 4.3% of the total. The latest figure declined 4.1% from August 2010’s $180.92 million.
Woodcrafts and furniture ranked third with sales of $165.94 million or a 4.1% share to the total, up 70.7% from $97.19 million.
Japan was the country’s top export destination in August, buying 16.1% or $651.98 million of the aggregate. This represents a 7.3% rise from last year’s $607.79 million.
Accounting for 15.1% was the US which bought $613.58 million worth of Philippine goods, down 4.5% from $642.49 million a year earlier.
China cornered 14% of the total with shipments amounting to $568.55 million or 5.4% lower than the year-ago figure of $601.10 million.
