Philippine apparel exports rise in quarter

Clothing and accessories are the top ten major sources of foreign exchange earnings in the Philippines. In March 2014, clothing and clothing accessories earned the Philippines US$165.91 million in foreign exchange exports, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%. From January to March 2014, the Philippines’ textile yarn and fabric exports amounted to US$56.278 million, a year-on-year increase of 23.01% compared with the total export volume of US$45.752 million in the same period in 2013. At the same time, Philippine cotton imports dropped significantly by 53.78% to US$1.652 million from January to February 2014, compared with US$3.574 million in the same period last year.