Subic Bay Freeport exports peak

Hanjin was the biggest contributor with $372.74, Wistron Infocom posted $66.71 million, while Japanese wood products manufacturer Juken Sangyo placed third with $24.86 million.

Also in the top 10 list were Taiwanese lock maker Tong Lung (Philippines) Metal Industry with $23.7 million; Japanese electronics sensor maker Nicera, with $14.42 million; newcomer Taiwanese firm Tapu Corp., which manufactures metal products, with $10.9 million; Japanese aircon maker Hitachi, $9.51 million; and another Taiwanese newcomer Cano Subic Corp., also a metal-products manufacturer, with $8.28 million.

The SBMA figures also indicated that the biggest export values were recorded in the first quarter of the year, with $230 million in February, $181 million in January and $119 million in March. Meanwhile, the second quarter yielded $67 million in June, $60 million in April and $55 million in May.

On the other hand, import value from January to June this year stood at $1.64 billion, up by $539.53 million, or 48.88 percent from last year’s $1.1 billion.

“Hanjin, for one, is expected to rally its production in the coming months. After delivering container ships like the APL Bahrain, Leyla K, and Eser K in the first semester, Hanjin is set to fabricate some 36 vessels more, with delivery sche-dules within the next two years,” Armand Arreza, SBMA adminis-trator and chief executive officer pointed out.

“So we’re expecting Hanjin to remain as the Subic freeport’s top exporter for the next few years, and also fuel the growth of Subic’s maritime industry.” Arreza added.