THE Export Development Council (EDC) said it is hoping to release downgraded targets for the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) next month.
“We convened the EDC executive committee weeks ago, where we had presented our simulations, assumptions, and mitigating measures,” EDC Executive Director Bianca Pearl R. Sykimte said on the sidelines of the UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week in Manila.
“Unfortunately, we had a very long agenda, so we are soliciting comments from the executive committee members on the simulations. So, we cannot release the final figures yet,” she added.
She said that there were a lot of headwinds in the last few years, which the EDC thought should be considered in setting the new targets.
“Definitely, we are downgrading the target. It has to be approved by the council. I think by April, when we have comments from the committee, we will release some figures,” she said.
“But we will have to maintain our targets in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP), because that is our commitment,” she added.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported exports of $106.99 billion in 2024, up 3.3%.
Under the PDP, the target is for total exports to hit $107 billion in 2024. The PEDP, on the other hand, projects $143.4 billion.
“We have reached the $50 billion mark for services exports. I think we will have to factor that in,” Ms. Sykimte said, noting that services exports have been driving overall export growth amid the “erratic or dwindling” performance of merchandise exports.
She said that the EDC is also considering the protectionist policies of US President Donald J. Trump in setting the new targets.
“Those are included in our considerations. But in terms of these US policies, we are quite confident that (the Philippines) will be the least of their worries in terms of reciprocal tariffs,” she said.
“I think we are 30th in terms of their sources of trade deficits,” she added.
Ms. Sykimte, who is also the Export Marketing Bureau Director, said the bureau is no longer focused on the usual contact services exports but on game development, animation, software development, and healthcare information management systems.
“In goods, semiconductors play a big role in our export strategy, but since our electronics sector is investment-driven we really need to work with our investment promotion agencies to attract investment in those value chains,” she added.
Aside from semiconductors, she said that the other big exports are machinery and transport equipment, minerals, coconut, and bananas. — Justine Irish D. Tabile