Speaking during the general membership meeting of PhilExport members from all over Central Luzon at Widus Hotel here, Ortiz-Luis said “outbound shipment of goods has been on a winning streak for the fifth straight month in April following successive months of losses.”
He cited data indicating that “exports rose 12.1 percent to $4.805 billion in April from $4.285 in the same month last year.”
“This recovery is tempting the Export Development Council to raise its export target from three to four percent to seven to 10 percent for goods and services. While this is largely due to the improved performance of our major markets, we have to give credit to our exporters, manufacturers and also our government partners whose resilience is enabling us to respond positively to the demand,” he said.
He reported that “capitalizing on this momentum, we are developing the first six-year PEDP to raise the industry performance bar to $100 billion and inspire further export growth, led by strong performers.”
Ortiz-Luis said, however, that “we still want to generate higher employment and income opportunities for MSMEs (micro, small, medium enterprises)” by “addressing market issues and implementing domestic policy reforms.”
Noting that East Asia and the European Union have remained top destinations of 62.3 percent of Philippine products, Ortiz-Luis noted that “the increasing efforts in strengthening ties with our ASEAN neighbors and also with China are expected to sustain the growth of the (export) sector in the coming months.”
“We likewise expect to sustain and strengthen the performance of mineral products, coconut oil, machinery and transport equipment, metal components, electronic products and chemicals,” he added.
Citing local and international projections that the Philippines has remained one of the strongest performers among emerging economies in Asia, Ortiz-Luis cited the Oxford Business Group (OBG) as saying that the country will most likely become the next “tiger economy” among ASEAN countries.
He said the OBG study also said that that the “services sector is seen to off set losses in agriculture, while manufacturing and industrial growth provide promising employment opportunities, supporting growth in value-added production to be able to sustain growth momentum.”
