Philippine total trade up 11.8 pct in November 2017

MANILA, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' total trade grew 11.8 percent in November 2017, pushing year-to-date growth to 9.9 percent, the government said on Wednesday.

Citing Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said trade performance showed faster expansion compared to a 9.4-percent year-on-year growth in November 2016.

NEDA said imports posted a hefty growth of 18.5 percent as all commodity groups registered growth rates, while exports grew by 1.6 percent - its slowest since November 2016 - as agro-based products and manufactures recorded declines, offsetting gains in mineral, forest, and petroleum products.

"Exports to ASEAN and the European Union look promising. Gathering of market intelligence, such as market profiles and emerging in-demand exports, as well as information dissemination to exporters should be further strengthened to boost trade, especially exports to East Asia," Philippine Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

He said the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Export Assistant Network, which provides exporters access to relevant information, and Tradeline Philippines, an online database service that contains product and market profiles, are seen to play important roles.

The country's economy is seen to continue its upward trajectory in 2018, especially with the Build, Build, Build program providing additional impetus to growth prospects, he said.

"The timely implementation of the government's infrastructure program will be critical in bringing down the cost of doing business and, thus, should make our exporters more competitive," Pernia said.

While the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, or TRAIN, is expected to finance the government's infrastructure program, Pernia said inflationary pressures, as well as the possible rise of domestic interest rates, should be closely watched as this could dampen business and consumer sentiment.