‘Significantly lower’ export targets due out soon

THE Export Development Council (EDC) is set to release new targets for the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) this week, which will likely be revised lower, though exporters remain hopeful about single-digit growth in exports next year.

- Justine Irish D. Tabile

“The figures we will share during the National Export Congress ... (will be) significantly lower for the next three years,” Export Marketing Bureau Director and EDC Executive Director Bianca Pearl R. Sykimte said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony for National Exporters’ Week.

She said the projections, when originally formulated, had reflected assumptions of a strong recovery post-pandemic, which were ultimately not sustained.

Launched in 2023, the PEDP had projected exports of $240.5 billion by 2028 after they came in at $112.7 billion in 2022.

For 2025, the PEDP estimated exports at $163.6 billion. In 2026 and 2027, the corresponding totals were $186.7 billion and $212.1 billion, respectively.

She said the revised PEDP to be issued on Friday will outline the revised targets for the 2025-2028 period, as well as the initiatives that the department plans to implement for the next three years.