Reconnect with the world in 2021 with Emirates’ special fares

January 28, 2021 | 3:48 pm

Emirates is launching its much-awaited global sale to inspire and encourage travelers to reconnect with family and friends or explore new destinations in the new year. With attractive offers, Emirates customers can make up for the lost time in 2021.

All-inclusive Economy Class fares from the Philippines start at USD 645, while Business Class fares start at USD 900. Flights can be booked at www.emirates.com/ph/english/.

Economy (MNL, CRK)

Destination	Economy fares starting from
Istanbul	USD 645
Cape Town	USD 750
London	USD 750
Paris	USD 750

Business (MNL, CRK)

Destination	Business fares starting from
Dubai	USD 900
Rome	USD 1300
Prague	USD 1450
Amsterdam	USD 1450

Economy (CEB)

Destination	Economy fares starting from
Istanbul	USD 645
Cape Town	USD 750
London	USD 750
Paris	USD 750

Business (CEB)

Destination	Business fares starting from
Dubai	USD 900
Rome	USD 1300
Prague	USD 1450
Amsterdam	USD 1450

Bookings have to be made between January 18 and February 1, 2021, for travel between January 18 and November 30, 2021. Emirates customers can travel with peace of mind with the airline’s flexible booking options and multi-risk travel insurance including COVID-19 cover with every flight. For those who are transiting in Dubai, they are not required to present a COVID 19 PCR test certificate unless it is mandated by their country of origin or final destination.

With the City of Dubai as its global hub, Emirates connects Filipinos with the rest of the world. Whether traveling to Dubai or staying there while waiting for a connecting flight to another destination, Emirates passengers can make the most of their visit with the return of My Emirates Pass – the exclusive offer that turns the Emirates boarding pass into a membership card. The offer has been extended this year, giving customers even more chances to explore UAE for less.

Through My Emirates Pass, Emirates’ customers flying to and through Dubai from January 1 to September 30, 2021, can take advantage of the exclusive offers by simply presenting their Emirates boarding pass and a valid form of identification at any of the participating outlets. The offer includes discounts in over 300 restaurants across the country and in over 35 spas in world-class hotels. It also unlocks offers at many tourist attractions, including Atlantis Aquaventure, and At the Top Burj Khalifa. The full list of participating outlets can be found here: www.emirates.com/myemiratespass.

Emirates delivers outstanding value through industry-leading service and products across every class of travel. Customers can explore over 4,500 channels of on-demand entertainment on the airline’s award-winning inflight system, ice; as well as regionally inspired multi-course meals and complimentary beverages in every class.

For more information, including how to book flights and a complete list of terms and conditions, customers are advised to contact their travel agent or visit www.emirates.com.

Flexibility and assurance

Emirates’ booking policies offer customers flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers who purchase an Emirates ticket for travel on or before June 30, 2021, can enjoy generous rebooking terms and options if they have to change their travel plans. Customers have options to change their travel dates or extend their ticket validity for 2 years. More information here.

Travel with confidence

AllEmirates customers can travel with confidence and peace of mind with the airline industry’s first, multi-risk travel insurance and COVID-19 cover. This cover is offered by Emirates on all tickets purchased on or from December 1, 2020, at no cost to customers. In addition to COVID-19 medical cover, this latest offer from Emirates also has provisions for personal accidents during travel, winter sports cover, loss of personal belongings, and trip disruptions due to unexpected air space closure, travel recommendations or advisories, similar to other multi-risk travel insurance products. Some limitations and exclusions apply. Policy details and more information here.

Health and safety

Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit www.emirates.com/yoursafety.

Rumors and fear dog Philippine plan for coronavirus vaccine drive

January 28, 2021 | 3:17 pm

A woman participates in the vaccine simulation in Mandaluyong City held at Pedro P. Cruz Elementary School on Jan. 27. Mandaluyong intends to vaccinate at least 500 patients per vaccine site. Image via Philippine Star/Michael Varcas

According to one rumor circulating in the Philippines, the coronavirus vaccine will allow President Rodrigo R. Duterte to kill people at the push of a button.

Elsewhere in the country of 108 million, memories of a dengue vaccine that has been banned locally are putting people off the idea of immunization even before the campaign begins.

“Many kids got sick after receiving that vaccine,” 62-year-old Crisanta Alipio said of the ill-fated vaccine against dengue, a mosquito-borne disease that can be deadly.

She said she was afraid of the novel coronavirus but even more afraid of vaccination.

The Philippines is due to start immunizations next month despite suffering Southeast Asia’s second-worst outbreak of the coronavirus with more than half a million infections and over 10,000 deaths.

But officials acknowledge they have an uphill struggle to persuade many people to take it, on top of the logistical difficulties in reaching 2,000 inhabited islands with a precarious health system in the Southeast Asian archipelago.

“Messaging has to be very concrete and evidence-based to encourage people to receive the vaccines,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario S. Vergeire told Reuters.

“We are assuring Filipinos that whatever vaccines that will be brought in and provided will go through a stringent process of regulation.”

DENGVAXIA SCARE
Confidence in vaccines was knocked by controversy over French company Sanofi’s Dengvaxia.

Rolled out rapidly in 2016 to more than 800,000 children to protect them from dengue, it was banned after its maker said it could worsen the disease in people who had not previously been exposed to the infection.

That led to two congressional inquiries and more than 100 criminal cases that linked child deaths to the anti-dengue shot—though such links have never been proved.

Sanofi has repeatedly said Dengvaxia is safe and effective and the vaccine has been approved for use by the United States and European Union.

After that episode, the Philippines fell from one of the top 10 countries for confidence in vaccines to no higher than 70th place. The number of children who were fully vaccinated fell from 85% in 2010 to 69% in 2019.

To address the fears, health workers would hold town hall and online meetings and be given special training on how to answer questions, said Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., a former army general running the anti-COVID-19 campaign, told the Senate.

The aim is to inoculate 70 million adults this year.

‘BIG PROBLEM’
In parts of the southern Philippines, the big fear is of a state-sponsored death campaign—not completely far-fetched in a country where Mr. Duterte’s drug war has left nearly 6,000 thousand dead since he took office in 2016.

Remote southern regions are the scene of both communist and Islamist insurgencies.

“Some of the information shared on Facebook and text messages said the COVID-19 vaccine contained a microchip which can be controlled remotely by President Duterte, and once he pushes a button, the person who received the vaccine will die,” said Nasser Alimoda, a government doctor in Lanao del Sur province.

Everywhere, there is concern over the specific vaccines that the Philippines plans to use too—particularly over Chinese company Sinovac Biotech’s vaccine, for which one study showed effectiveness of little over 50%, though another gave it over 91%.

One opinion poll showed fewer than a third of Filipinos were willing to get inoculated against coronavirus.

“Vaccination programs will go to waste if people refuse to get the shots,” a former health minister, Esperanza I. Cabral, told Reuters.

Apasrah Mapupuno, the head of the government’s Lanao del Sur health team, said she had asked dozens of health workers and others if they would roll up their sleeves for COVID-19 vaccines.

Not one said “yes.”

“That is the big problem,” Mapupuno said. “How can the health workers convince the community to get vaccinated if they themselves are not sold on COVID-19 vaccines?” — Karen Lema/Reuters

Pfizer vaccine only slightly less effective against key South African mutations — study

January 28, 2021 | 2:38 pm

While these findings don’t indicate the need for a new vaccine to address the emerging variants, Pfizer and BioNTech are prepared to respond if a variant of SARS-CoV-2 shows evidence of escaping immunity by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, the companies said. Image via REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

NEW YORK — Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine appeared to lose only a small bit of effectiveness against an engineered virus with three key mutations from the new coronavirus variant found in South Africa, according to a laboratory study conducted by the US drugmaker.

The study by Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), which has not yet been peer-reviewed, showed a less than two-fold reduction in antibody titer levels, indicating the vaccine would likely be effective in neutralizing a virus with the so-called E484K and N501Y mutations found in the South African variant.

The study was conducted on blood taken from people who had received the vaccine. Its findings are limited because it does not look at the full set of mutations found in the new South African variant.

While these findings don’t indicate the need for a new vaccine to address the emerging variants, Pfizer and BioNTech are prepared to respond if a variant of SARS-CoV-2 shows evidence of escaping immunity by the COVID-19 vaccine, the companies said.

The scientists are currently engineering a virus with the full set of mutations and expect to have results from that in around two weeks, according to Pei-Yong Shi, an author of the study and a professor at UTMB.

The results are more encouraging than another non-peer-reviewed study from scientists at Columbia University earlier on Wednesday, which used a slightly different method and showed antibodies generated by the shots were significantly less effective against the South Africa variant.

One possible reason for the difference could be that the Pfizer findings are based on an engineered coronavirus, and the Columbia study used a pseudovirus based on the vesicular stomatitis virus, a different type of virus, UTMB’s Mr. Shi said. He said he believes that finding in pseudoviruses should be validated using the real virus.

The study also showed even better results against several key mutations from the highly transmissible UK variant of the virus. Mr. Shi said they were also working on an engineered virus with the full set of mutations from that variant as well. — Reuters

Facebook says it will permanently stop recommending political groups to users

January 28, 2021 | 1:38 pm

Several watchdog and advocacy groups have pushed for Facebook to limit algorithmic group recommendations. They have argued that some Facebook Groups have been used as spaces to spread misinformation and organize extremist activity. Image via Reuters

Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on Wednesday the company would no longer recommend civic and political groups to users of the platform.

The social media company said in October that it was temporarily halting recommendations of political groups for U.S. users in the run-up to the presidential election. On Wednesday Facebook said it would be making this permanent and would expand the policy globally.

On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Ed Markey wrote to Mr. Zuckerberg asking for an explanation of reports, including by news site The Markup, that Facebook had failed to stop recommending political groups on its platform after this move.

He called Facebook’s groups “breeding groups for hate” and noted they had been venues of planning for the Jan. 6 riot at the US Capitol.

Speaking on a conference call with analysts about Facebook’s earnings, Mr. Zuckerberg said on Wednesday that the company was “continuing to fine-tune how this works.”

Facebook groups are communities that form around shared interests. Public groups can be seen, searched, and joined by anyone on Facebook.

Several watchdog and advocacy groups have pushed for Facebook to limit algorithmic group recommendations. They have argued that some Facebook Groups have been used as spaces to spread misinformation and organize extremist activity.

Mr. Zuckerberg also said that Facebook was considering steps to reduce the amount of political content in users’ news feeds. — Elizabeth Culliford/Reuters

US stands with Southeast Asian countries against China pressure — Blinken

January 28, 2021 | 1:06 pm

WASHINGTON — The United States rejects China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea beyond what it is permitted under international law and stands with Southeast Asian countries resisting its pressure, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

Mr. Blinken made the remarks in a call with Philippine Foreign Minister Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr., the US State Department said in a statement.

“Secretary Blinken pledged to stand with Southeast Asian claimants in the face of PRC pressure,” it said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

China claims almost all of the energy-rich South China Sea, which is also a major trade route. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan have overlapping claims.

The United States has accused China of taking advantage of the distraction of the coronavirus pandemic to advance its presence in the South China Sea.

The State Department said Mr. Blinken, who took office this week in the administration of Democratic President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., “underscored that the United States rejects China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea to the extent they exceed the maritime zones that China is permitted to claim under international law.”

US relations with China deteriorated under former US President Donald J. Trump over a variety of issues including the pandemic, Chinese policies in Hong Kong, Beijing’s treatment of its Muslim minority and trade.

Two weeks ago, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Chinese officials and companies for alleged misdeeds in the South China Sea. — Reuters

How retail traders squeezed Wall Street for bets against GameStop

January 28, 2021 | 12:44 pm

LONDON — A surge of retail stock trading over the last year lit the fuse that sent shares of GameStop Corp. rocketing higher without a clear business reason, market watchers say, squeezing hedge funds that had bet against the video game retailer and other companies that were out of favor on Wall Street.

What is going on? Here are some answers:

BEHIND THE SURGE IN INTEREST OF RETAIL INVESTORS

More individuals have invested in stocks during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, and experts cite a number of reasons. Lockdowns boosted savings, policy stimulus put cash into people’s pockets, and extremely low interest rates drove investors to the stock market. Also, a proliferation of trading apps allowed anyone with a smartphone to buy or sell stocks for free.

Retail investors’ participation in US equity order flows increased to nearly 20% in 2020 from 15% in 2019, while orders from long-only funds fell to 6.4% last year from 9.7% in 2019, data from Swiss bank UBS showed.

Data this year suggests further growth. Online broker eToro said it registered more than 380,000 new users in the first 11 days of 2021, adding to the 5 million who used it last year, for example.

Retail investors are also buying stock options, the right to buy or sell shares at set prices without putting cash upfront. That takes their dollars much farther and can turbocharge share price movements.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF THIS SURGE IN RETAIL TRADING?

Big US technology companies were among the beneficiaries last year. Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google-owner Alphabet saw record inflows as their businesses benefited from lockdowns and their stocks soared.

With unprecedented stimulus and easy money policies from central banks, investors then shifted to smaller stocks, especially ones that got beaten down during the pandemic.

Market capitalization of world stocks surged to a record $88 trillion, a whopping $33 trillion jump from the March bottom. In the last few days, GameStop’s shares have jumped 1600%, with big gains also for shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., Blackberry Ltd., Nokia Oyj, and others.

WHAT’S HAPPENING ON REDDIT AND SOCIAL MEDIA?

Online discussions about stocks on social media platforms such as Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook are seen by many traders and analysts as fueling massive share price moves that cannot be explained by fundamental news or traditional valuation metrics. Retail investors have long discussed stocks on social media, but during the pandemic these forums appear to be gaining more influence. Investors pointed to discussion threads such as “WallStreetBets” on Reddit for driving the surge in GameStop.

Professional investors are paying attention. Dennis Dick, a stock trader in Las Vegas said he reads the site Seeking Alpha before work and keeps up to the minute by watching Twitter, but last weekend he also joined a group on Reddit “because I need to know what’s going on.”

HOW HAS THIS AFFECTED HEDGE FUNDS AND PROFESSIONAL TRADERS?

Massive share price swings for no apparent reason have caught Wall Street off guard. Short sellers, or investors who bet the price of a stock would fall, are getting crushed. Melvin Capital, a well-established hedge fund, took massive losses on its bets that GameStop share would fall.

Traders scrambling to cover these short positions and prevent further losses had to pay inflated prices, which added more fuel to the rally. Several traders told Reuters that this phenomenon—the classic short-squeeze—drew in still more retail investors hoping to ride the wave.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

With global stock markets surging since March despite the pandemic’s devastation of the real economy, investors and analysts are warning about asset bubbles. If markets turn, overvalued stocks will fall with them. Many trading platforms also offer loans to investors to buy shares and magnify their returns. In a falling market, that could wipe out people caught on the wrong side of the trade. — Thyagaraju Adinarayan/Reuters

Philippine regulator approves emergency use of AstraZeneca vaccine

January 28, 2021 | 11:45 am

MANILA – The Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the emergency use of AstraZeneca PLC’s COVID-19 vaccine, the second to be approved in the Southeast Asian nation.

The known and potential benefits of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine outweighed the risks to date, FDA chief Rolando Enrique Domingo told a news conference. The Philippines’ FDA has previously approved Pfizer and BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine. — Reuters

Philippines GDP shrinks 8.3% y/y in Q4

January 28, 2021 | 10:52 am

MANILA – The Philippine economy contracted by slightly less than expected in the last quarter of 2020, official data showed on Thursday, helped by increased spending around the Christmas holidays.

The gross domestic product shrank 8.3% in the December quarter from a year earlier PHGDP=ECI, the statistics agency said. Economists in a Reuters poll had expected the economy to shrink 8.5% after a revised 11.4% fall year-on-year in the third quarter. — Reuters

Farm output falls for 1st time since 2016

January 28, 2021 | 12:34 am

Farmers try to save their crops after the fields were flooded in Alicia, Isabela province, Nov. 23, 2020. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter

FULL-YEAR agriculture output contracted for the first time since 2016, after the sector was battered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a series of devastating typhoons, and the continued outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF).

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday that agriculture output, which contributes about a tenth to gross domestic product (GDP) and a fourth of the country’s jobs, shrank by 1.2% in 2020, a reversal from the 0.3% growth in 2019.

This was the first time the agricultural output saw an annual decline since 2016’s -1.5%.

In the fourth quarter, farm output slumped by 3.8%, worse than the -0.1% recorded in the same quarter of 2019 and the 0.7% growth in the third quarter.

This dismal performance makes it unlikely that fourth-quarter GDP, set to be announced today, will get a lift from the agriculture sector.

The PSA noted a drop in crops, livestock, poultry and fisheries production during the October to December period, when a series of strong typhoons hit parts of Luzon.

“We believe that despite the Taal Volcano eruption, COVID-19 pandemic, continued incidence of the ASF, and a series of strong typhoons, the country’s agriculture and fishery sector has remained pliant and resilient, facing head on and surmounting the huge challenges last year,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement on Wednesday.

After missing the 1.5% growth target last year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is aiming to achieve 2.5% growth this year.

Q4 SLUMP
In the fourth quarter, crops output declined by 0.4% versus the 1% growth it posted a year ago, as palay (unhusked rice) and corn production dropped 1.4% and 0.3%, respectively. Improvements were seen in production of tobacco (13.4%), sugarcane (10%) and cacao (7.1%) during the period.

For the full year, crops production improved by 1.5%, led by increases in sugarcane (19%) and cacao (10%).

Mr. Dar said production of rice and corn are seen to increase in 2021, as long as there are no strong typhoons. The government has allocated around P20 billion in programs to improve output in the two subsectors.

In a mobile phone message, Roy S. Kempis, a professor at Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) said it should be noted that crops output only slipped by 0.4% for the fourth quarter despite the typhoons.

“This means that crops such as rice, corn, fruits, and vegetables have been harvested before the typhoons arrived,” Mr. Kempis said.

Typhoons Quinta, Rolly, Ulysses and Vicky, swept through the country in the last three months of 2020. Data from the DA showed the combined crop damage caused by Quinta and Rolly reached P8.46 billion, while losses from Ulysses amounted to P6.72 billion, and damage from Vicky totaled P129.8 million.

Rolando T. Dy, executive director of Center for Food and Agri-Business of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) said in a mobile phone message that the sector can improve in 2021 by focusing on hybrid rice and by consolidating mechanization to increase yield.

IMPACT OF ASF
Livestock production, which accounted for 15.4% of total agricultural output, slipped by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Hog production decreased by 13.8% during the period, as the ASF outbreak persisted.

Poultry production slumped by 5.5% in the October to December period, bringing the full-year decline to 3.5%. Chicken production declined by 7.9% in the fourth quarter.

“Expectedly, the livestock and poultry subsectors performed poorly due to the ASF incidence in Central Luzon and low demand of chicken due to limited operation of fastfood chains and restaurants,” Mr. Dar said.

He said the DA has set aside an initial budget of P500 million for loans to backyard and semi-commercial raisers in an effort to improve local poultry production.

PSAU’s Mr. Kempis said the decline in poultry output was a surprise since he expected it to grow as Filipino consumers look for a substitute to pork.

“I believe factors that may have affected is the closure of poultry farms as a result of the crackdown by local government units on farms that adversely affect the environment with flies and obnoxious odor, and conflict between contract growers and integrators,” Mr. Kempis said.

United Broilers Raisers Association (UBRA) Chairman Gregorio A. San Diego said the poultry industry’s losses were more than what PSA data showed, adding this was the reason for the rise in the retail price of chicken.

Based on latest price monitoring from the DA, the price of whole chicken ranges at P160 to P200 per kilogram.

Similarly, DA reports showed that the price of pork shoulder, or kasim, ranges from P340 to P400 per kilogram, while pork belly, or liempo, is priced from P320 to P440 per kilogram, well above their suggested retail prices (SRP).

As a result, the DA recently proposed an executive order to put a price ceiling on the said products. If signed, the price of pork shoulder will be at P270, pork belly at P300, and whole chicken at P160.

FISHERIES
Fisheries production fell 4.7% during the fourth quarter of 2020, a turnaround from the 2% growth it posted in 2019. This brought the value of production of the fisheries subsector to drop by 1.2% versus a growth of 1.5% the previous year.

The PSA said fish species such as fimbriated sardines, blue crab, threadfin bream, tiger prawn, tilapia, and yellowfin tuna posted lower output.

Asis G. Perez, Tugon Kabuhayan convenor and former national director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), said the lower fisheries output can be attributed to recent typhoons.

“Major production areas for aquaculture and capture fisheries such as the Calabarzon Region and Bicol Region were devastated,” Mr. Perez said in a mobile phone interview.

However, Mr. Perez said the subsector is seen to quickly bounce back in 2021 since the fishing boats that were damaged during the recent typhoons have already been replaced or repaired, thus allowing fishermen to return to fishing.

“Further, the closed fishing season for roundscad (galunggong) will end on Jan. 31. It will augment the country’s fish supply,” Mr. Perez said.

Performance of Philippine agriculture (Q4 2020)

January 28, 2021 | 12:34 am

FULL-YEAR agriculture output contracted for the first time since 2016, after the sector was battered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a series of devastating typhoons, and the continued outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF). Read the full story.

Philippine trade year-on-year performance (Dec. 2020)

January 28, 2021 | 12:33 am

THE Philippine trade deficit widened to a nine-month high in December as month-on-month imports went up, potentially indicating improved consumer imports as economic activity picks up, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Wednesday. Read the full story.

Trade deficit widens to 9-month high

January 28, 2021 | 12:33 am

The trade deficit reached $21.8 billion in 2020, according to the statistics agency. — REUTERS

By Jenina P. Ibañez, Reporter

THE Philippine trade deficit widened to a nine-month high in December as month-on-month imports went up, potentially indicating improved consumer imports as economic activity picks up, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed on Wednesday.

Preliminary data from the PSA said that the value of merchandise exports fell 0.2% to $5.7 billion in December, reversing the 4% increase seen in November.

This drove the full-year export tally to $63.8 billion, or 10.1% lower than 2019 exports, better than the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) 16% decline estimate for 2020.

Merchandise imports shrank 9.1% to $7.9 billion in December from the same month in 2019 as it registered a year-on-year decline for the 20^th straight month. But imports had improved month on month, rising 4.5% since November.

For full-year 2020, imports fell 23.3% to $85.6 billion from the comparable 12 months in 2019, worse than the DBCC’s revised target of a 20% decline for the full year.

The trade-in-goods deficit in December as a result amounted to $2.18 billion, down from the previous month’s $1.73 billion but still narrower than the $2.96 billion in the same month in 2019.

This brought the cumulative trade deficit for 2020 to $21.839 billion, smaller than the $40.67-billion gap a year earlier.

Total external trade in goods for the year — or the sum of export and import goods — plummeted by 18.2% to $13.66 billion.

Export sales of manufactured goods, which made up 87% of total sales in December, inched up 3.5% to $4.98 billion from the same month in 2019.

Electronics products exports — which accounted for 63% of merchandise goods — rose 4.9% to $3.61 billion. Agriculture-based exports slumped 46.8% to $186 million.

Meanwhile, imports of capital goods, which accounted for 34% of December imports, fell 12.5% to $2.7 billion compared with the same month a year earlier. Imports of mineral fuels, lubricant, and related materials slipped 50.8% to $644 million.

Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods went up 7.3% to $3 billion, while imports of consumer goods increased by 1.5% to $1.45 billion.

ING Bank N.V. Manila Senior Economist Nicholas Antonio T. Mapa said lower outbound shipments to major trading partner China and a decline in agri-based exports impacted by recent typhoons weighed on an export sector that had expected expansion.

He noted the continued decline in imports was caused mostly by shrinking capital and fuel imports.

“Of note, however, was the surprise gain in consumer imports, eking out a 1.5% increase for the month which could give an indication of some resumption of economic activity as select lockdown measures continue to be relaxed,” he said in an e-mail.

According to Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Economist Michael L. Ricafort, exports could have also been subdued due to a stronger peso exchange rate and slow recovery from export destination markets that saw a renewed surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

He said measures to reopen the economy supported faster monthly growth in imports.

“Resilience in foreign direct investment data could have also led to faster growth in imports, especially for capital equipment and other production inputs,” he said.

OUTLOOK
Mr. Mapa said that fragile global recovery would limit export gains in 2021, while import demand remains subdued by lower investment activity from both firms and households.

“The net effect of these trends will mean that the 2021 trade deficit remains below the pre-COVID-19 of $3.1 billion, which in turn would be supportive of (the Philippine peso) as corporate demand for the dollar remains soft,” he said.

Milo K. Gusaninghe, JPMorgan EM Asia Associate, said in an e-mail that slow economic recovery would mean that a widening of the trade deficit would materialize in the second half.

Imports and exports could pick up this year, Mr. Ricafort said, if economies recover and the number of COVID-19 cases fall. Government spending on infrastructure could increase capital equipment and construction materials imports, he added.

“An offsetting risk factor is the new variants/strains of the coronavirus that are more contagious, leading to some lockdowns and travel restrictions in Europe and in other countries around the world, including the major export markets/trading partners of the Philippines, thereby could slow down the economic recovery prospects, as well as the pick up in demand for Philippine exports and imports,” he said.