Philippine exports hit three-year high in February

Philippine exports surged at their fastest pace in more than three years in February, led by a robust manufacturing sector and growing electronics shipments, official data showed Thursday. Exports jumped 24.4 percent from a year earlier to $4.65 billion in February, the National Statistics Office said -- the biggest gain since December 2010. The manufacturing sector continues to be a "significant driver of export growth", said Emmanuel Esguerra, the deputy director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). NEDA's assistant director, Tess Oliva, said the global economic recovery and favourable overseas prices of key commodities helped boost exports. "We cannot tell if (export growth) will be the same... in the coming months but we can say there will be positive growth rates in the coming months," she told AFP. Electronics exports, which accounted for 40.4 percent of total exports, rose by 26.6 percent to $1.88 billion. Japan was the Philippines' top market in February, accounting for 25.4 percent of total export revenues. China and the United States were second and third largest respectively, the government said.