LOSS of investments and employment, among others, may be the ‘broader impact’ on the Philippine economy if the country’s exports keep underperforming, according to Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr.
‘Well, loss of investments, expansions will be held, definitely loss of employment,’ Ortiz-Luis said in a recent televised interview when asked about the impact on the Philippine economy if exports continue to plunge.
With this, he reiterated the need for a ‘more realistic’ budget for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to prop up the country’s outbound shipments.
In particular, the Philexport chief said ,’Maybe double [the budget of DTI] it. What is P10 billion compared to some projects that we are not doing now?’
In a witty retort towards the reallocation of funds from the anomalous flood control projects, Ortiz-Luis said: ‘If we can only get 5 percent of what is lost in the floodwater.that would help a lot the development of exports also of SMEs, which are lagging behind all our Asian neighbors.’
While he could not quantify by how much corruption has held back the export sector in the Philippines, he pointed to the participation rate of exporters in international trade fairs.
‘We have big fairs outside which we couldn’t afford which are supported by our neighbors. In the [China-Asean Expo] CAEXPO recently, you know how many exporters our neighbors sent? More than 200 from Thailand, more than 200 from Malaysia. You know how many we sent? Ten. Although the space will be given to us for free, it’s expensive for exporters to go,’ added Ortiz-Luis.
Apart from the lack of budget for the country’s exports, Ortiz-Luis took note of the changing trend in the trade data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) which indicated that growth of exports in August slowed down while exports to the US plummeted, with Hong Kong now being the Philippines’ top export destination.
‘We know that Hong Kong overtook the US last August as the number one export destination,’ which could prove, he said, that ‘we’re trying to shift to other areas but it’s easier than done.’
PSA data showed that in August 2025, or during the month when the 19-percent reciprocal tariff imposed by Washington took effect for the Philippines, exports to the United States contracted 11.2 percent to $1.09 billion from the $1.22 billion recorded in August 2024.
Meanwhile, the Philippines’ shipments bound for Hong Kong soared by 26.4 percent to $1.19 billion in August 2025 from the $942.56 million in August 2024.
For August 2025 alone, this means that Hong Kong is now the Philippines’ top export destination.
The PSA data showed the growth in country’s outbound shipments slowed down in August compared to the previous months or when the tariff imposed by Washington was not yet in place.
PSA data showed that export earnings growth slowed in August as outbound shipments only grew 4.6 percent to $7.06 billion in August from the $6.75 billion in the same period last year.
This, after exports peaked at 26.9 percent in June 2025, then export earnings slowed to 17.6 percent in July and posted single-digit growth in August.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector slipped into ‘negative territory’ in September on the back of drops in output and new orders.
Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) economist Leonardo A. Lanzona, Jr. said, ‘this has to do with the poor performance in exports.’
‘I think this has to do with the poor performance in exports. Manufacturing is significantly linked with exports. Hence, given the global headwinds, particularly with Trump’s unconventional policies, exports are down, bringing down manufacturing as well,’ Lanzona told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message on Wednesday.
For her part, Elizabeth Lee, Chairperson of Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI), told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message recently that while the September dip reflected weaker domestic demand, weather disruptions and rice import restrictions, ‘companies’ continued purchasing activity and upbeat sentiment suggest the downturn is viewed as temporary.’