RP export earnings rise

RP export earnings rise

MANILA (AFP): Philippine export earnings rose 17.9 percent from the previous year to US$18.66 billion in the eleven months to November 1996, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Export earnings for the month of November surged 29.8 percent year-on-year to $1.85 billion, the state-run agency said.

The statistics office releases import figures separately. November's export revenues, however, were two percent lower than the October earnings which totaled $1.88 billion, the statistics office said in a statement.

Electronics and components accounted for 42.6 percent of total exports in November, earning $786.56 million, up 57 percent from the previous year, it said.

Agriculture-based products were the second-biggest export earner in November with receipts totaling $156.29 million, up 5.8 percent from the preceding year.

The United States was the Philippines' biggest market in November, taking in 30.5 percent of the total exports worth $562.67 million.

It was followed by Japan, Singapore and the Netherlands, NSO said.