NEDA KUMPIYANSA: PH TRADE BABALIKWAS

INAASAHANG magsisimulang lumago ang kalakalan sa mga darating na buwan sa pagluwag ng quarantine measures, ayon sa National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Sa ulat ng Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) noong nakaraang Hulyo 10, ang total merchandise trade ng bansa ay nagtala ng mas mabagal na pagbaba na 38.7 percent noong Mayo 2020 matapos ang mataas na 59.5-percent decline noong Abril 2020.

Ang merchandise exports ay bumaba ng 35.6 percent subalit walang malaking pagbabago sa agro-based, forest at manufactured products.

Samantala, bumaba ang imports ng 40.6 percent subalit nagtala ng mas mabagal na contractions sa major commodity groupings, partikular sa capital goods, raw materials, kabilang ang chemicals at manufactured goods, at consumer goods.

“The slower decline in trade performance is a welcome indication that economic activity has started to pick up. This is due to the relaxation of quarantine measures in certain areas, the gradual reopening of business, and the restarting of production within the country and its trading partners,” wika ni acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua sa isang statement.

Ang manufactured goods, na bumubuo sa halos 80 percent ng total exports, ay inaasahang unti-unting makababawi kung saan tumaas ang Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) para sa ­Filipinas sa 49.7 noong Hunyo 2020 mula sa 40.1 noong Mayo 2020.

Sa kabila ng nagpapatuloy na lockdown sa Cebu kung saan matatagpuan ang ilan sa electronics firms, ang Semiconductors and Electro­nics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) ay nagpahiwatig ng unti-unting pag-angat sa semiconductors exports sa mga darating na buwan.

Binigyang-diin ng NEDA chief na sa harap ng malaking downside risks sa global trade, kailangan ng bansa na paigtingin ang pagsisikap nitong lumikha ng isang mas kumpetitibong trade sector.

“We have made some notable improvements in the past decade. However, we need to capita­lize on this and further improve infrastructure, logistics, productivity, and the whole manufacturing value chain in order (to) bring down the cost of production and remain internationally competitive. In addition, we can attract more new technology and innovation through the passage of the Public Service Act, and provide performance-based, time-bound, and targeted incentives through the proposed CREATE (Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act) bill. These can all help improve the enabling environment for foreign investments and external demand,” ani Chua.