MANILA – Philippine exports sustained its double-digit growth in October as it recovered from the impact of United States’ trade policies.
Data released lately by the Philippine Statistics Authority showed a 19.4% annual jump in exports to USD7.30 billion, against USD6.2 billion during the same period last year.In September, exports increased by 16.2 percent to USD7.25 billion.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque said the government is committed to bolstering exports’ expansion by diversifying markets for Philippine products.
On August 7, the 19% reciprocal tariff rate imposed by the US took effect, and this hurt the expansion in the Philippines’ exports to just 4.6%. Roque said it is a good thing the US excluded from the implementation a number of agricultural products, such as coconut oil.
“Those that are in the agri business have been waiting for this. So, at least they won. This is happy news for them,” she said. (PNA)