Philippine Garment Exports Forecast To Grow 2% In 2024
Philippines exports of clothing are expected to grow 2 percent in 2024 and reach US 1.33 billion.
“The garment export industry needs to expand to newer markets to boost growth,” a statement from the Foreign Buyers Association of the Philippines (FOBAP) informed.
FOBAP President Robert Young said that next year would not be an easy year for the garment export sector due to the Russian-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars creating disruptions in global supply chains.
“To boost apparel exports, we are now looking at other destinations in the Middle East and South America,” media reports quoted Young as saying in the statement.
Orders from the newer markets have started pouring in along with orders from our traditional markets for 2024, but these orders are smaller in size when compared with 2022,” he added.
According to Young, the export growth of two percent also hinges on the Philippines government signing free trade agreements with various countries and regions
“There is also a need to reduce electricity costs or else the government should provide subsidy to the export sector so that they remain competitive as against their South East Asian neighbouring countries,” media reports stated.
“The free on board (FoB) price of Philippine clothing is 15 percent higher than our neighbours and so it becomes difficult to clinch larger orders,” he noted in the statement.
Philippines made garments are mainly exported to the United States, Canada, the EU and the ASEAN countries.
