The Philippine government's ambitious 7-8 percent yearend growth target now seems unattainable with the continued decline of the country's exports brought about by the prolonged economic woes in Japan and the United States.
Data released by the National Statistics Office showed that the country's merchandise exports fell by 1.7 percent in July to 4.43 billion U.S. dollars from last year's 4.51 billion U.S. dollars.
This was the third straight month that Philippine exports registered a decline. Exports dropped by 3.1 percent in May and 9. 4 percent in June, the highest decline for the year.
Analysts are convinced that the 7-8 percent target growth is now way off the mark.
A joint research conducted by the First Metro Investment Corp ( FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UAAP) showed that the Philippine economy can have a full-year growth of only 5. 2 percent but this would still depend on the economy's performance in the second semester.
In a report titled "Global Economic Prospects 2011" released early this year, the World Bank also forecast a gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the Philippines of only 5 percent this year.
The World Bank's growth forecast was way lower than what the country's economic managers have first projected. In December last year, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said the country may attain an economic growth of 7-8 percent in 2011.