Trade shows rebound signs

This slower decline in the country’s trade performance signals the resumption of economic activities

Merchandise trade showed a greatly reduced contraction for June, signifying industries are clawing back towards the path to recovery, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed exports dropping by 13.3 percent versus the posted 26.9 percent contraction a monthago while imports declined by 24.5 percent compared to a 40.6 percent contraction during the comparable period.

“This slower decline in the country’s trade performance signals the resumption of economic activities,” Acting Socioeconomic Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

The decline in merchandise exports could be owed partly to demand factors, particularly on how the country’s trading partners are faring economically, Chua explained.

“With restricted mobility and economic activity due to the global pandemic, GDP (gross domestic product) is negatively affected. Our major trading partners’ GDP has declined in the second quarter of the year, resulting in a reduced appetite for imported goods,” he explained.

Signs of life

Further, the agency cited that the latest manufacturing numbers signal recovery, improving in terms of both volume and value of production.

The Volume of Production Index declined at a slower rate in June to minus 19.3 percent from the posted contraction of 28.5 percent last month.

Likewise, the contraction of the Value of Production Index was slightly better at minus 22.5 percent versus the minus 31.2 percent in the same comparable period.

Still, the NEDA chief said that the recent move to revert Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces to the much stricter Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine might affect businesses but only in the short-term.