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Bucks rout Celtics, 116-91, to clinch series 4-1

LOS ANGELES — The team with the best record in the NBA regular season also won the race to be the first into the postseason conference finals Wednesday night, when the Milwaukee Bucks ran away from the visiting Boston Celtics for a series-clinching, 116-91 victory.

The top-seeded Bucks now advance to the Eastern finals, where they will have the home-court advantage over the winner of the other Eastern semifinal between Toronto and Philadelphia. Those two hopefuls meet in a Game 6 in Philadelphia on Friday, with the second-seeded Raptors holding a 3-2 series lead.

Avenging a seven-game, first-round loss to the Celtics last season, the Bucks won four straight in the series after being stunned 122-90 at home in the best-of-seven opener.

Milwaukee trailed for just a matter of seconds late in the first quarter in the clincher, building as much as a 16-point lead in the second quarter and 18 in the third before coasting home.

The Bucks used balanced scoring and a stingy defense to eliminate the fourth-seeded Celtics, who had reached the Eastern finals against Cleveland each of the past two seasons.

Antetokounmpo led seven players in double figures for the Bucks, who will be making their first appearance in the conference finals since 2001, when they lost to Philadelphia. Antetokounmpo also found time for eight rebounds and a game-high eight assists.

Khris Middleton (19 points), Eric Bledsoe (18), George Hill (16), Nikola Mirotic (10) and Ersan Ilyasova (10) also scored in double figures for the Bucks, who shot 44.7 percent overall and outscored the Celtics 45-21 on 3-pointers.

The Bucks also got 10 points in 16 minutes from guard Malcolm Brogdon, who was returning from a heel injury that had sidelined him since March 15.

Mirotic shared team-high rebounding honors with Pat Connaughton with 11 apiece.

Kyrie Irving had 15 points to top the Celtics, who had beaten the Bucks in five of their previous six postseason head-to-heads.

Irving shot 6-for-21 overall and 1-for-7 on 3-point attempts, and he was limited to one assist in what could be his final game as a Celtic. He can become a free agent this summer.

Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum finished with 14 points apiece, and Jaylen Brown had 12 for the Celtics, who shot just 31.2% from the field.

Morris completed a double-double with a team-high 11 rebounds.

WARRIORS HOLD OFF ROCKETS DESPITE DURANT’S INJURY
Draymond Green and Klay Thompson buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions late in the game Wednesday night, allowing the Golden State Warriors to survive the loss of Kevin Durant and hold off the Houston Rockets 104-99 in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals in Oakland, Calif.

Top-seeded Golden State’s third narrow win of the best-of-seven series puts the defending champions one victory away from a fifth straight trip to the West finals.

The Warriors will get their first opportunity to earn advancement in Game 6 of the series on Friday night in Houston. Game 7, if necessary, would be played Sunday in Oakland.

After the Rockets rallied from 20 down to take the lead late in the third quarter, and with Durant in the locker room for the final 14 minutes following a calf injury, the Warriors outfinished their fourth-seeded foe.

A 3-pointer by Eric Gordon had the Rockets down just 89-88 with 4:49 to play, and a free throw by James Harden kept Houston within 91-89 with 3:39 to go.

But Green then buried his 3-pointer, and after a Houston turnover, Thompson bombed in his trey to push the Golden State lead to 97-89 with 2:34 to go.

Houston got as close as three one more time, on a layup by Harden with 18.6 seconds left, before Thompson, after nearly throwing the ball away, dropped in an interior hoop for the clinching basket with 4.1 seconds left.

Durant’s injury occurred innocently enough after he hit a jumper from the right side with 2:05 left in the third quarter.

He took a step toward the defensive end of the court before grimacing in pain and looking down at his lower right leg, leading to concerns he might have ruptured his Achilles.

However, the injury was later announced by the Warriors to be a strained right calf.

Thompson finished with 27 points, Stephen Curry 25 and Durant 22 for the Warriors, who continued a run of home wins by the teams in the series.

Andre Iguodala added 11 points, while Green had a brilliant all-around game before fouling out, complementing eight points with 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Harden was the game’s leading scorer with 31 points for the Rockets, who were both outshot by the Warriors from the field 45.9% to 41.8% and outscored on 3-pointers 39-36. — Reuters

Salomon thrust of ‘run, train and play’ continues with latest X-trail staging in Timberland Heights

ANOTHER staging of the Salomon X-trail Run was held recently, continuing its message of discovering both the fun and technical side of outdoor undertakings through “run, train and play.”

Held on April 28 at The Glades in Timberland Heights in San Mateo, Rizal, this year’s edition of the Salomon X-trail Run had trail runners challenged with jacked-up race categories which had 16k and 50k as the shortest and longest distances, respectively.

Participants passed through difficult but scenic paths that took them uphill, downhill and in various twists and turns through dirt, mud, dust and water.

Organizers said the race course was conceived as such to challenge the most tenacious of runners both technical ability-wise and the mental part of it.

Topping the men’s side of the Salomon Ultra 50K run was Manolito Divina who finished with a time of seven hours, 45 minutes and 43 seconds, followed by Salomon athlete Miguel Lopez (7:54:43) and Anthony Calixtero III (8:21:12).

Over at the women’s side it was Patricia Ann Morata who ruled with a time of 10 hours, 21 minutes and 10 seconds with Trisha Reyes at second (10:24;31 and Carmina Luisa Jereza at third (12:03:42).

In the 32k category, first place was Welfred Esporma, followed by Alison Telias and Juan Basilio Salaug in the men’s, while in the women’s it was Jocelyn Elijeran at first place, Silamie Gutang at second and Joyce Tagongtong at third.

For the 24k runners, up top for the male and female categories were Randolf Gonzales and Ma. Cecilia Cardo at first place, Jeffrey Reginio and Carly Relf at second place, and Roy Dacutanan and Jennifer Santana at third place.

In the 16k, Andre Mahilum and Anne Marindol Rongauinlla took first place in the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively, with Samuel Ebuen Bada and Hersey Kaye Padre coming at send, and Jose Mari de Castro and Iris Charine Torculas at third place.

Following another successful staging of the X-trail Run in the country, Salomon Philippines said it is all the more determined to continue staging such events in the future and providing fun and difficult races for the trail running community, which has steadily grown throughout the years. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Bundesliga confirmed as Europe’s home of Asian football players

BUNDESLIGA welcomes more Asian players compared to other top four European leagues while Asian players in Germany also accumulate more appearances and goals than all other top four European leagues combined.

The Bundesliga has this week released data which confirms Germany as the home for Asian talent in Europe, reinforcing the country’s strong footballing connections to the region.

Data collected by Opta Sports shows that from July 1998, the Bundesliga has welcomed 64 players who have played 3,926 matches and scored 427 goals. In terms of Asian appearances and goals, the Bundesliga outperforms the English Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 combined.

Since 1998, players representing the vast geographic regions of Asia, including South-East Asia (Cambodia, the Philippines), Central Asia (Tajikistan), Western Asia (Iran, Lebanon), as well as East Asia (China, Japan, North and South Korea), have all made Germany their home. These include some of Asia’s biggest stars, such as AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2018 and former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe, former Korea captain Ja-Cheol Koo and Chinese legend Shao Jiayi.

In the last two decades, of the players that made the most appearances in top European leagues, the top four out of five Asian players — Makoto Hasebe, Mehdi Mahdavikia, Vahid Hashemian, Ja-Cheol Koo, made those in the Bundesliga. The quartet made almost 1,000 appearances between them, with Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Koo (FC Augsburg) adding to this each week as they continue their careers in Germany.

Speaking about this, Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein said: “The Bundesliga has earned a reputation of being a truly global league, but we’re particularly proud of our strong Asian connections. We look forward to welcoming many more Asian stars over the coming years as we continue to build on our strong relationship with Asian football and its fans.”

He continued: “Many Asian players come to Germany attracted by the league’s pure, authentic football — football as It’s meant to be. They’ve played an important part in our league’s success, both on the field and by engaging with millions of fans across the continent.”

Follow all the latest Bundesliga action on Bundesliga.com and via the official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.

2019 UTP national juniors tennis team to be announced

IN a bid to continue developing fresh Filipino tennis talents, Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP) is forming the 2019 UTP National Juniors Tennis Team, which will represent the country in International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) tournaments.

“We are helping our top junior players compete in international competitions to further hone their skills as they are the future of Philippine tennis. We hope that this year’s team will be equally successful as last year’s batch,” UTP President Jean Henri Lhuillier said.

The cut-off period for the ITF and ATF tournaments is from June 1, 2018 to May 31 this year. The top two players of the Boys and Girls 18 and 16 Under category will be selected for an ITF tournament while the top two players of the Boys and Girls 14 and Under category will be sent to an ATF tournament.

UTP is also doing a similar search for representatives to the WTA Future Stars Girls 14 and 16 Under category through the Cebuana Lhuillier Girls Tennis Challenge. The top 8 ranked girls in both categories from January 1, to August 31, will play in a round robin competition this September and the champions will be sent to the WTA Future Stars tournament in its new host country in Shenzhen, China.

Last year, UTP formed several teams that played in Malaysia and Indonesia and were successful in producing winners with the Eala siblings Alex and Miko reaching the finals of the AGS-ITF in Indonesia. In the Sarawak 13th ATF 14 and under series, Johndy Velez won the Boy’s Singles, Rupert Tortal and Brent Cortes won the Boy’s Doubles and Alexa Milliam won both the Girl’s Singles and Doubles titles.

Collective weaknesses

Brad Stevens is no stranger to losing in the National Basketball Association. After he was pried from Butler in 2013, he won only 25 games in his first year as the Celtics’ head coach. He still had more setbacks than victories in his second year, but somehow snuck into the playoffs, where he promptly got swept in the first round. He did better in 2016, winning two postseason games, and then took the green and white to the conference finals the next two years. Given his track record, it’s fair to argue that he’s no stranger to adversity.

For all the trials Stevens has undergone, and particularly at the start of his stint with the Celtics, his characterization of his 2018-19 campaign as “the most trying” of his career is nothing short of remarkable. No doubt, much of the disappointment he conveyed in the aftermath of their elimination from the postseason yesterday stems from heightened expectations. With familiar foil LeBron James heading westward and the roster slated to be complete following the convalescence of marquee names Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward from injury, they were pegged to be legitimate contenders for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Instead, they went through a roller-coaster ride that told as much about their collective weaknesses as their individual strengths.

“I did a bad job,” Stevens said, and not just in reference to the Celtics’ inability to present a better challenge against the Bucks in their semifinal-round series. It appeared as if they would take the measure of owners of the league’s best slate, taking Game One in convincing fashion. Combined with the short work they made of the Pacers in the first round, their performance off the gates gave way to rosy projections. Unfortunately, they failed to stay focused on the task at hand in the midst of a resurgence from their opponents. They should have been ready for it, but they ultimately proved wanting.

Which, perhaps, is why Stevens could not help but be hard on himself. It wasn’t that the Celtics lost. All the third-party prognoses aside, the Bucks were superior, due in large measure to the mere presence of presumptive Most Valuable Player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even as they had the more recognizable names, their competition boasted of the more solid aggroupment. “If your team doesn’t find its best fit together, that’s on you,” he contended. And he’s right. At the same time, it’s also on Irving, who constantly craved for the mantle of leadership to the point of butting heads with teammates, but who then went on to fall woefully short of promise.

No doubt, the Celtics will be spending much of the offseason planning their next steps. The blueprint looked ready at the start of the season: keep the roster propelling ahead by hooking up with Irving anew. Now, however, it’s much hazier. They didn’t move forward. They actually regressed. And, under the circumstances, everything should be considered — even the prospect of resetting the clock. It’s not what fans want to hear, but it’s for the best. As Stevens noted, “a lot of deep dives on how to be better” is required.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

2019 National and Local Elections

MERALCO READY FOR 2019 MIDTERM ELECTIONS. The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said that it has prepared its 300 crew personnel, more than 150 generator sets, and 300 floodlights to provide power and lighting to polling and canvassing centers that might be affected by unexpected power interruptions for the upcoming elections. In line with this, Meralco also reminded those who will be manning the polling and canvassing centers to avoid plugging in unnecessary appliances to avoid overloading and octopus wiring. Meralco Assistant Vice President and Public Information Office Head Joe Zaldarriaga (third from the right), Meralco Operations Management Services Manager and co-lead for Networks of Meralco for Midterm Elections Efren Olpindo (fourth from the right), Meralco Assistant Vice President and HMB South Business Area Head Benjamin Nolasco, also serving asMeralco Project Lead for the Midterm Elections(far right), present to the media the generator sets and floodlights that will be deployed on May 13. For any election-related concerns or inquiries, Meralco advised the public to call its Halalan Hotline Numbers: 632-8118, 0920-9716211 (Smart), 0917-5516211 (Globe), or 0925-7716211 (Sun).Or log on to Twitter @meralco or Facebook at www.facebook.com/meralco.

From dump to desk: upcycling pineapple waste into specialty paper

The Design Center of the Philippines, an attached agency to the Department of Trade and Industry committed to strengthening the Philippines’ design ecosystem, recently launched pinyapel, a locally-processed and locally-manufactured specialty paper from locally-sourced discarded pineapple leaves.

“Design Center’s pinyapel is a welcome development in our country’s materials library,” says Maria Rita O. Matute, executive director of Design Center. “Aside from indigenous raw materials, material choices now include processed agricultural waste, such as pineapple leaves, developed into high value materials.”

“Exploring different materials and experimenting with the strength, assets, and potential of those material, we at Design Center intend to produce uniquely Filipino yet globally relevant material solutions that can improve our country’s competitiveness in the global market,” Matute adds, underlining the role of materials as building blocks of design.

Design Center has a materials research and development program that is committed to producing sustainable, cost-effective and commercially-viable new materials that can enhance Philippine products and services, and contribute in bolstering local businesses.

Locally-sourced, locally-manufactured paper

As the second largest producer of pineapple products globally, the Philippines produces millions of metric tons of pineapple every year. In year 2017 alone, the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Selected Statistics on agriculture reports that pineapple production figures amount to 2.671M, with around five percent of that comprised of agricultural wastes such as pineapple leaves (Food and Fertilizer Technology Center).

Through the rigorous materials research and development efforts of Design Center, an IP-protected process was developed, yielding a new specialty paper using pineapple leaves, reinforced and print viable for secondary packaging applications.

Pinyapel offers a solution for agricultural wastes by giving them new purpose and value. In this case, discarded pineapple leaves from pineapple plantations, and increasing livelihood for their farmers.

Nature’s Fresh Pineapples, who supplied the discarded pineapple leaves for the experimentation and prototyping phases of pinyapel, says that aside from the diversified use of pineapple leaves from their farms, the initiative also became a tool to increase livelihood of their farmers. “For every one cycle of drying, collecting, and bagging of five tons of pineapple leaves, it adds an approximately Php 1,753 to the weekly income of every seven pineapple laborers,” said Aleli Mae Uy, chief operating officer of Nature’s Fresh Pineapples.

Pinyapel also leverages the country’s agricultural industries to align with the UN Sustainable Development Goal of responsible production and consumption. Especially with the increasing awareness on sustainability going around locally and globally, Design Center’s pinyapel initiative offers to spark more ideas in transforming local raw materials, agricultural and industrial wastes to high-value materials that can be used in new product development and innovative designs.

Lolita Cabanlet, general manager of CDO Handmade Paper, the paper sheet processor that partnered with Design Center in producing pinyapel, is proud that the Philippines is gradually moving towards sustainable and ecologically-conscientious manufacturing and production through the pinyapel initiative.

“The development of pineapple paper by the Design Center of the Philippines came at its right time when people are searching for biodegradable and sustainable materials. It is best for packaging items such as bags, boxes, pouches, envelopes and many more. Aside from the local market, there is a huge demand for a food-safe pineapple paper itself from other countries, thus, export opportunity for it is bountiful,” she said.

Creating new markets

The initiative seeks to involve raw materials suppliers, material converters, and manufacturers nationwide to encourage a circular economy that unlocks commercialization opportunities using the newly developed specialty paper.

For Ideatechs Packaging, a partner for the beta run of the pinyapel production, the opportunity to collaborate with Design Center expanded material options as they were able to use pinyapel in gift bags and paper cup sleeves. “We at Ideatechs find it fulfilling that this collaboration has allowed us to support sustainability through the upcycling of waste pineapple leaves, and the local pineapple industry, especially those in the SME sector,” said Helen Lising, general manager of Ideatechs.

Further research and development initiatives are underway to develop a high value material for more product applications. Design Center is open to more interested converters and manufacturers willing to adopt the pinyapel formulation and process, and collaborate to further explore pinyapel for a more expansive commercialization.

First quarter economic growth slowest in 4 years

The Philippine economy posted a 5.6% gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported this morning.

The first quarter outcome was lower than the 6.3% in the previous quarter and 6.5% in the first quarter of 2018.

This was the slowest expansion in four years or since the 5.1% logged in the first quarter of 2015. This also snapped the economy’s sixteen-quarter growth streak of at least 6% growth.

This was likewise lower than the 6.1% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 20 economists conducted last week as well as missing the downward revised 6%-7% target set by the government for 2019.

On the supply side, services led the way with a 7% expansion, faster than the 6.7% recorded in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the industry sector grew by 4.4%, slower than last year’s 7.7%. Growth in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing likewise slowed to 0.8% versus the 1.1% in the same quarter last year.

On the demand side, government spending recorded a 7.4% growth albeit slower than the 13.6% growth in the first quarter of 2018.

Private investment, which is represented in the data as capital formation, slowed down during the quarter at 6.8% compared to 10.3% previously.

Growth in the exports and imports of goods and services also eased to 5.8% and 8.3%, respectively, from 10.3% and 11.3%.

On the other hand, household spending recorded a 6.3% growth, accelerating from 5.3% in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 5.6% in the first quarter of 2018.

Gross national income – the sum of the nation’s GDP and net income received from overseas – posted a 4.9% growth in the first three months of 2019 compared to 5.7% the previous quarter and 6.3% in the 2018’s comparable three months. — Marissa Mae M. Ramos

Exports fall a 4th month, widen trade gap

By Christine Joyce S. Castañeda
Senior Researcher

MERCHANDISE TRADE remained a drag on overall economic growth last quarter, as export receipts declined for the fourth straight month in March while import payments continued to increase.

Preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said merchandise exports declined by 2.5% year-on-year by the end of the first quarter. This resulted in sales of $5.876 billion in March from $5.222 billion in February and $6.024 billion in March 2018.

Philippine trade year-on-year performance (March 2019)

This marked the fourth straight month of export decline following contractions in February (-0.1%), January (-6.7%) and December 2018 (-12.2%).

At the same time, import payments rose 7.8% to $9.014 billion in March, accelerating from the upticks of 2.6% in February and 3.6% in January.

To date, payments for the import of goods grew by 4.7% to $26.179 billion on a cumulative basis against the nine percent goal of the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for full-year 2019.

March results brought year-to-date export receipts to $16.377 billion, a 3.1% decrease from the $16.906 billion in the first quarter of 2018 and below the DBCC’s six percent growth assumption for this year.

Consequently, the country’s balance of trade in goods in March registered a deficit of $3.138 billion, widening from the $2.744 billion in February and $2.340 billion in March 2018.

On a cumulative basis, the trade deficit widened to $9.801 billion in the first quarter, larger than the $8.103-billion shortfall in the first three months of 2018.

In a statement, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) attributed the decline in merchandise exports to the decrease in sales of electronics and petroleum products.

ELECTRONICS DEMAND WEAKENS
Electronic products — which accounted for more than half of export earnings — declined by 3.7% to $3.231 billion from $3.354 billion recorded in the same period of 2018.

Year-to-date, overseas sales of electronic products slipped by 1.7% to $8.841 billion.

Outbound shipments of manufactured goods, which accounted for 82.5% of total exports, went down 3.8% to $4.848 billion from $5.037 billion in March 2018.

Petroleum products — with a 0.3% share — likewise decreased by 66.9% year on year to $17.109 million.

On the other hand, exports of agro-based products grew by 5.4% to $436.418 million. Exports of forest and mineral products likewise grew by 24% to $30.813 million and 8.1% to $407.792 million, respectively.

On the import side, purchases of consumer goods posted the highest growth at 21.4% to $1.485 billion.

This was followed by imports of capital goods, which registered a 13.2% growth in March to $2.894 billion. Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods also increased by 5.5% to $3.471 billion.

Bucking the trend was the import of mineral fuels, lubricant and related materials which saw a decline of 12.6% to $1.091 billion.

Union Bank of the Philippines, Inc. (UnionBank) chief economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion attributed the “expected” weak export performance mainly to “softness in external demand.”

“Regional trade, largely international trade has been expected to be weak this year due to uncertainties in world trade prospects brought by the trade negotiation issues between the two biggest economies in the world, namely, the US and China,” Mr. Asuncion explained in an e-mail.

For imports, Mr. Asuncion said that the faster growth “can be rooted from last year’s momentum” due to increased demand for capital goods and equipment as government ramps up infrastructure spending.

In a separate email, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) economist Michael L. Ricafort blamed the trade results to low external demand brought by the slowdown in global economic growth due to the simmering US-China trade war and “Brexit-related uncertainties.”

The wider trade deficit may have affected first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) results that will be reported by the PSA today.

“Wider trade deficits or net imports could still somewhat be a drag on economic growth,” RCBC’s Mr. Ricafort said.

For his part, UnionBank’s Mr. Asuncion said that while trade continues to be a drag on economic growth, it would be offset by the recovery in household demand amid inflation’s continued slowdown from a nine-year-high 6.7% in September and October last year.

“A slight uptick in the biggest chunk of the economy would be significant enough to offset a decline, particularly, a trade balance drag,” Mr. Asuncion explained, referring to household spending that fuels nearly 70% of GDP.

For Mr. Asuncion, export performance is “expected to continue its softness” unless “overall global trade prospects become more positive.”

“On the other hand, imports may continue to grow as the… government continues with its ambitious infrastructure development program,” he added.

The government is encouraging exporters to diversify their products in order to expand their market reach, NEDA quoted its director-general, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia, as saying in a statement.

“To match this effort, the government continues to explore non-traditional markets such as Eastern European countries and is seeking to strengthen ties with traditional trading partners,” Mr. Pernia said, adding that the Export Marketing Bureau of the Trade department is looking at non-electronics products such as cars, desiccated coconut, coconut oil, and footwear & wearables “as new export growth drivers,” among others.

The United States was the Philippines’ top export market in March with a 15.4% share at $906.33 million, down 3.1%, followed by Japan’s 15.2% ($892.20 million, down 1.2%), Hong Kong’s 14.1% ($829.02 million, down six percent) and China’s 12.5% ($732.15 million, down 2.2%).

The first quarter saw Philippine export sales to the US, which accounted for 16.1% of the total, grow 4.7% to $2.644 billion. Philippine shipments to Japan, which accounted for 15.9%, fell by four percent to $2.612 billion, those to Hong Kong, which accounted for 13%, dropped eight percent to $2.132 billion, while those sold to China, which contributed 12.5%, increased by 2.3% to $2.052 billion.

Meanwhile, China was the Philippines’ top source of imports in March with a 21.4% share ($1.925 billion, up 50.2%) followed by Japan’s 9.8% ($882.87 million, down 3.8%) and the United States’ 7.9% ($712.43 million, up 12.2%).

Year-to-date, imports from China, which accounted for 21.3% of the total, grew 24.9% to $5.579 billion; those from Japan, which made up 9.7%, fell 2.2% to $2.539 billion; while those from the US, which made up 7.3%, slipped 0.6% to $1.907 billion.

Philippine trade year-on-year performance (March 2019)

MERCHANDISE TRADE remained a drag on overall economic growth last quarter, as export receipts declined for the fourth straight month in March while import payments continued to increase. Read the full story.

Philippine trade year-on-year performance (March 2019)

Farm output nearly flat in Q1

By Vincent Mariel P. Galang
Reporter

A NEARLY FLAT farm output marked the first quarter, slowing from a small increment a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday a day ahead of its gross domestic product (GDP) report for the same period, noting that increases in livestock, poultry and fisheries output narrowly offset a drop in crops that accounted for half of total value of production.

The PSA said that value of production last quarter of the farm sector — which contributes about a tenth to GDP and a fourth of jobs in the country — edged up just 0.67% annually compared to a downward-revised year-ago 1.08% increment and 1.8% in 2018’s final three months, as well as a 2.5-3.5% program under the 2017-2022 Philippine Development Plan.

Value of production of the crops subsector — the biggest contributor to total production with a 52.71% share — decreased by 1.01%, compared to a 1.1% year-ago increment.

Palay, which made the biggest contribution to total farm output value at 18.06%, dropped 4.46% in value and volume (compared to 4.61% growth a year ago) to P4.417 million metric tons (MMT) against an April 15 expectation of a 1.3% drop to 4.56 MMT.

“This was attributed to the adverse effects of the dry spell reported in Cagayan Valley, CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), MIMAROPA (Occidental and Oriental Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan), Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao and SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato-Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-Sarangani-General Santos City),” the PSA said.

“Bicol Region reported damage to palay production due to flooding brought by Typhoon Usman during the latter part of December 2018,” it added, citing as well reductions in area harvested and yield in Davao Region due to January floods brought by a low pressure area.

Corn, which accounted for 8.74% of total value of production, dropped 2.07% (compared to the past year’s 4.66% increase) to 2.425 MMT against an April 15 estimate of a 1.2% increase to 2.51 MMT.

“The decline was expected because of the drought which is why we are really pushing for the implementation of small and sustainable irrigation projects,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said in a mobile phone message when sought for comment.

For Roehlano M. Briones, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, “[i]t’s pretty straight forward. I think the decline in crops is because of the impact of the El Niño.”

In a separate telephone interview, Rolando T. Dy, executive director at the University of Asia and the Pacific’s (UA&P) Center for Food and Agri-Business, said: “Drought impacted crops as expected.”

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which says a dry spell is characterized by three consecutive months of below-normal (21-60% reduction from average) rainfall, estimated on April 25 El Niño’s damage to rice, corn, fisheries and high-value crops at P7.96 billion, consisting of P4.04 billion (191,761 MT) in palay damage and P3.89 billion (254,766 MT) in corn damage.

Mr. Piñol had said in an April 25 social media post that “[d]espite the impact of El Niño on rice and corn production, their respective production targets can still be met as reported losses are only 0.96% (197,700 MT) of the 20 million MT target for rice and only 2.94% (254,766 MT) of the 8.64 million MT target for corn.”

All other farm subsectors gained, though slower than year-ago increments.

Livestock output, which accounted for 17.11% of total production value, grew by a slower 1.25% in terms of value (from two percent a year ago) as hog output, which accounted for 14.86% of the total, increased by 1.56% (compared to 2.39% a year ago) to 567,410 MT.

Poultry output, which contributed 16.74%, increased in value terms by 5.41% (from 5.24% a year ago) as chicken production, which accounted for 12.21%, rose 4.34% (from 4.93% previously) to 495,060 MT.

Fisheries production, which accounted for 13.45% of total farm output value, edged up by 0.97%, turning around from a 4.58% year-ago contraction, as a 3.18% drop (from -5.43% the past year) to 89,860 MT for tilapia, which contributed 1.98%, and a 4.73% contraction (from -7.38% previously) to 62,890 MT for milkfish which contributed 1.78%, were offset by a 36.16% surge (turning around from a 14.48% year-ago drop) to 53,260 MT in production of roundscad, with 0.99% of total value of production.

“Roundscad production recovered from the previous year’s slump,” the report read.

“In NCR (National Capital Region, or Metro Manila), more unloadings of roundscad were reported due to the… lifting of ban on catching roundscad in the fishing ground of Palawan and additional fishing boats from other regions” like Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

This year’s first three months saw farmers get generally lower prices at the farmgate for their harvest, down 3.76% compared to a 7.64% increase a year ago. Poultry saw the biggest price drop of 8.6% from a 3.12% increase a year ago, crops came next with a 5.46% fall compared to a 6.8% year-ago rise, while livestock recorded a 1.49% contraction compared to a 13.23% increase the past year.

In its report, the PSA attributed the overall fall in crop farmgate price partly to “speculation” on lower rice prices as the government liberalized importation of the staple and replaced previous quantitative restrictions with a tariff scheme.

“‘Yung downside lang sa next semester: how will the farmer respond to the softening of palay prices,” UA&P’s Mr. Dy said.

“With the softening of palay price, ‘yun bang [will the] farmer magtatanim [plant]?”

Fishermen, however, got generally better deals, with farmgate prices rising by 6.68%, though smaller than the year-ago 9.76%.

Treasurer signals euro bond sale within the month

THE COUNTRY’s planned benchmark-sized euro-denominated notes will likely be offered “very very soon,” the head of the Bureau of the Treasury told reporters in Malacañan Palace on Wednesday, saying the government is still watching market developments for the right time to sell the debt papers.

“We are just watching closely market developments and very soon we may be able to launch the euro bond issue,” National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said in the press conference, adding later with a smile when pressed for a definite timetable that the sale will be conducted “very very soon.”

Asked if the euro bonds will be sold next month, Ms. De Leon replied: “Masyadong matagal ‘yan (That’s too long a wait).”

The government plans to issue “benchmark-sized” euro-denominated bonds — meaning at least $500 million (€446.94 million) in volume — in order to diversify funding sources.

The Philippines hired banks late last month to arrange deal road shows in Zurich, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan from April 26 to draw investor interest.

“Based on the road show that we conducted, they are very receptive. They have been looking forward for the RoP (Republic of the Philippines) to come back to the market…” Ms. De Leon said.

On Monday, she said the Treasury is looking at issuing the notes with maturity in the “intermediate part of the curve.”

“During discussions with investors, that’s also their preference, so between seven to 10 years,” she said following the weekly Treasury bills auction in Manila City.

Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings assigned a “BBB” rating while Moody’s Investors Service assigned “Baa2” to the planned debt notes two weeks ago, all a notch above minimum investment grade.

On April 30, S&P raised the country’s long-term sovereign credit rating to “BBB+” from “BBB,” bringing it a step closer to bagging a single “A” grade.

Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana said late last month that the government has been “planning to go back to the euro market for the longest time,” explaining that “[t]his is part of the DoF (Department of Finance) and Treasury’s strategy to diversify its financial instruments and… investors base.”

The last time the government borrowed euros was in 2010, raising €75 million in three- and five-year multi-currency retail Treasury bonds that also raised $400 million.

It also raised €500 million in 10-year debt in 2006 in a multi-currency global bond offer along with $1.5 billion.

The state plans to borrow P1.189 trillion this year — 75% of which will be sourced domestically while the remainder will be from foreign creditors — to fund a budget deficit programmed at P624.4 trillion, equivalent to 3.2% of gross domestic product, and support increased government spending programmed at P3.774 trillion.

The state is also set to raise 6 billion yuan ($893.3 million) from a second sale of “panda” bonds. For the planned yuan-denominated debt, Ms. De Leon said the government is also waiting for the right market conditions before selling. “We have also received the approval of the regulators. Same, we are looking closely,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

The government is also looking at offering “samurai” bonds amounting to $1-1.5 billion in yen equivalent some time next semester, as well as another round of offshore dollar bonds.

In January, the Philippines sold $1.5 billion in 10-year offshore dollar bonds, priced 110 basis points (bps) above benchmark US treasuries and tighter than an initial 130 bps guidance. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

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