Philippine Exports Aim for 40% Growth to Meet 2024 Target

MANILA: The Philippines is facing a challenging goal as its exports of goods and services need to surge by 40 percent to align with the over PHP140-billion revenue target set for 2024 under the Philippine Export Development Program (PEDP). This ambitious target is part of the country’s strategic economic plan.

According to Philippines News Agency, director of the Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB), the nation’s export performance in 2023 is anticipated to fall short of its target due to global market uncertainties. The PEDP had set export revenue goals of USD126.8 billion for 2023 and USD143.4 billion for 2024.

Latest government data revealed a decline in merchandise exports from January to November 2023, dropping by 8.4 percent to USD67.03 billion, down from USD73.18 billion in the same period of 2022. In contrast, services exports experienced a significant increase from January to September 2023, rising by 28.4 percent to USD13.53 billion, up from USD10.53 billion in the first three quarters of 2022.

Sykimte expressed optimism that the robust performance in services exports could contribute to an overall 5 percent growth in outbound trade of goods and services for the last year. This growth rate, despite being below the PEDP’s target of USD127 billion, still surpasses the average growth rate of 4 percent observed in previous years of the PEDP.

Recognizing that a 40-percent growth in exports this year is a ‘hard target’, Sykimte remarked that export revenues in 2024 could still see a 10 percent increase. She mentioned that, based on market projections and assuming business as usual, a 10-percent improvement is feasible, though efforts will be made to exceed this figure.