THE Export Development Council (EDC) will convene in the first quarter of next year to recalibrate the country’s targets, a senior trade official said last week.
Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) director Bianca Sykimte told reporters on Thursday that goals under the 2023-2028 Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) were likely to be lowered to take into account current challenges.
“The more ambitious target of the PEDP is what we have to downplay,” she said.
Sykimte did not provide more details, only saying that key sectors such as semiconductors were underperforming.
Under the PEDP, semiconductor exports are expected to grow by 6.0 percent over the medium term under a baseline scenario and by 14 percent in a situation where both outbound shipments and the economy outperform.
As of October, however, based on Philippine Statistics Authority data, these were down 9.9 percent at $25.31 billion.
Semiconductors, which account for about 40 percent of the country’s merchandise exports and some three-fourths of outbound electronics shipments, plummeted by 33.8 percent to $1.95 billion in October alone.
Electronics exports plunged by 23.3 percent to $2.87 billion during the month and were down 4.4 percent year to date at $33.46 billion, PSA data showed.
The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Foundation Inc., which has blamed the decline in electronics exports to an inventory correction and a less competitive product mix, has predicted a 10-percent contraction for 2024.
Overall merchandise exports as of October were down by 5.5 percent at $61.83 billion.
While the PEDP target is set to be adjusted, the Trade department said that the goal under the wider Philippine Development Plan is expected to be met.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo expressed confidence that the 2024 target of $107 billion for both merchandise and services exports would be hit by the end of the year.
Under the PEDP, overall exports are expected to hit $143.4 billion in 2024.
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