Philippines Trade To Triple With Its Asian Partners by 2030

Trade between the Philippines and 11 other Asian markets could triple by 2030, highlighting the value of intra-regional trade, with the manufacturing sector expected to drive growth.

According to a study conducted by global shipping and logistics firm United Parcel Service (UPS) in January and February of last year, 198 businesses located in and with trade interests in the 12 Asian markets were polled.

"For the Philippines, in particular, the country has an opportunity to build on rapid growth in the previous decade, particularly in the manufacturing sector," UPS said in a statement.

Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam are among the 12 Asian markets covered by the "UPS Intra-Asian Study."

"There are also significant opportunities for Filipino businesses in areas such as digitalization, supply chain resilience, and multilateral cooperation in international trade," the report went on to say.

Data from the International Trade Center, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs were also used in the UPS study.

It was noted that the local manufacturing sector was expected to drive the projected trade growth, with retail, industrial manufacturing, automotive, high-tech, and healthcare being the main drivers.

“The [industrial manufacturing and automotive] segment stands to be the largest by value in 2030, more than [tripling] from 2020 levels as the country aims to serve as a global and regional hub for the automotive and electronics sectors,” UPS said.

“Meanwhile, trade in the high-tech segment, which constituted 41 percent of the country’s intra-Asia trade in 2020, could more than double in value, riding the wave of digitalization which will create significant demand in this segment across Asia,” the logistics company said further.