Merchandise export sales contracted in December due to declines posted by four out of the top ten commodities for the month, the government reported Friday morning.

Preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed exports contracting by 4.9% to $4.72 billion in December. This was a reversal from the previous month’s 1.6% increase ($4.96 billion) and the 6.6% increment ($4.97 billion) recorded in December 2016.

The commodities that declined were coconut oil (-56.7%); ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used for vehicles, aircrafts and ships (-27.1%); other manufactured goods (-24.4%) and metal components (-3.0%).

Those that gained were electronic products (15%), components/devices (semiconductors) (18.9%), machinery and transport equipment (62.8%), gold (198.8%), electronic equipment and parts (20.31%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (10.6%).

Hong Kong was the Philippines’ top export market in December with a 16.7% market share at $789.61 million. It was followed by US (13.9% share), Japan (13.5%), China (11%), and Singapore (6.9%).

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