Electronics shipments boost Philippines exports

Philippine exports rose in November for the first time after a 10-month slide, thanks to a boost in the electronics sector, AFP quoted the government as saying Tuesday.

Shipments grew 5.1 percent from a year earlier, and were up 0.6 percent from the previous month, to $3.69 billion, the National Statistics Office said in a statement.

The rise was mostly due to a 6.9 percent increase on-year in the export of electronics products, to $2.15 billion for the month. However, electronics shipments for November were down 0.7 percent from the October figure.

Apart from electronics, the other top-five Filipino exports - garments, ignition wiring sets for vehicles, furniture and copper, were still slightly down from November 2008 levels.

The government agency said the year-on-year increase for November exports was the first since they went on the decline in January 2009.

November exports to the Philippines' top-five markets all rebounded, with shipments to the United States, the top buyer of Filipino products, rising 7.5 percent to $654.17 million.

Philippine exports for the 11 months to November totalled $35 billion, still down 24.6 percent from the previous year, it said. Industry leaders have forecast a 20 percent fall in Philippine exports for the whole of 2009.

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