Philippines Exports Poised to Exceed Target Growth This Year – DTI

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s exports are expected to grow faster than the government’s target this year, buoyed by strong performance in the first half, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). “We’re hopefully optimistic that, of course, we’re going to grow. We’ve seen the DBCC (Development Budget Coordination Committee) forecast, it’s about three percent (growth) for goods and four percent (growth) for services. We are cautiously optimistic that we’ll surpass that,” DTI Export Marketing Bureau director Bianca Pearl Sykimte told reporters during the Coconut Philippines Trade Fair 2026. Sykimte said exports posted double-digit growth in the first half of the year. Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that exports of goods from January to July rose by 13 percent to $54.92 billion from $48.67 billion in the same period last year. The growth was driven by electronic products, which went up by 21 percent to $30.92 billion in the January to July period from $25.54 billion a year ago. Last year, the country’s merchandise exports reached $84.48 billion, the highest recorded since tracking started in 1991. The figure was also 15 percent higher than the $73.27 billion worth of exports in 2024. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a telephone interview that the group expects exports to continue growing for the rest of the year. He said that they expect exports in the last quarter to post high single-digit or low double-digit growth. “Assuming no surprises from (United States President Donald) Trump, there is still seasonal demand that will come in from other products for the Christmas season. That will pull up exports,” he said. In particular, he said the group expects demand for garments, toys, housewares and Christmas decor. “As for electronics, we don’t see any reason why this should not continue growing,” Ortiz-Luis said. He said that demand for agricultural products is also expected to provide a boost to exports this year. As part of efforts to support the exports sector, the DTI conducted the Coconut Philippines Trade Fair last week at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, where 300 participating micro, small and medium enterprises are looking to expand opportunities for product development, market linkages and commercial partnerships. The country’s coconut exports reached $3.6 bilion last year, growing by 34 percent. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said that the further diversification of the country’s export markets is helping drive exports growth. He said the global boom in artificial intelligence-related products and other high-end electronics or semiconductors is also benefiting the country. In terms of service exports, he said that cost-cutting measures worldwide are supporting the country’s business process outsourcing sector. “For the coming months, catch-up spending by the government to make up for the underspending since the latter part of 2025, especially on various infrastructure projects around the country, would help pump-prime the economy and also help increase investments, domestic trade and external trade, both imports and exports,” he said. However, he flagged the strong El Nino drought in the latter part of the year until early next year as a risk that could reduce agricultural output for both the export and domestic markets. He said the elusive peace deal between the US and Iran could also potentially reduce or disrupt global oil supply and lead to higher prices that may affect trade. For United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office chief economist Dennis Novy, diversification of trading partners would help countries like the Philippines navigate growing fragmentation and uncertainty in global trade. “We are now in a world where perhaps we will see more fragmentation and what countries do not want is to overly rely on a small set of trading partners,” he said. He said increased diversification would help build resilience to shocks. Sykimte said that the government has been pushing and working on export market diversification by negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs). “We’re doing our best to promote all these FTAs. So I think more than 60 percent of our exports go to markets where we have trade preferences. So our role is to really improve utilization,” she said. Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the Philippines expects to sign the FTA with Chile in October. She also said the country is on track to complete negotiations for its FTAs with the European Union and Canada, as well as the review of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement this year.