Export Market for Philippine Diversified Agriculture and Labor-Intensive Industries

Abstract

The paper examines the prospects for export expansion of the country’s diversified agricultural and labor-extensive industries. Initially it establishes the Philippines’ assumed competitiveness in these products by ranking them according to the normalized values of their net exports. An examination of the trend in import demand for such products in the country's major trading partners showed consistently high growth in specific (5-digit SITC) agro-based and labor-intensive commodities. The examination also revealed bright prospects for certain other products belonging to these categories where the country could be competitive but which are not yet being exported by her in any significant amount, Moreover the import demand for the commodities under study appeared to be generally income elastic, especially the labor-intensive ones. Given these income elasticity estimates, per capita import values for these products were projected for the years 1990 and 2000 for each of the trading partners considered, using high and low projected growth rates of per capita income.