By HENRY EMPEÑO | May 11, 2021

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Exports generated by Subic-based manufacturers and port users surged by 48 percent while imports grew at 29 percent in the first quarter of 2021 despite less-than-ideal business conditions brought about by the continuing Covid-19 pandemic.

Figures from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department (SBMA-TFCD) showed that Subic’s export value from January to March this year hit US$321.61 million, while imports touched the US$462.5-million level.

Subic’s first quarter (Q1) 2021 exports topped the US$217.3-million record in Q1 2020 by US$104.31 million, or 48 percent while the Q1 2021 imports eclipsed the US$359.2-million tally in Q1 2020 by US$103.3 million, or 29 percent.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the first quarter growth this year was “very much significant” when matched against last year’s records because Subic was not yet in a pandemic in the first two and a half months of 2020.

“This means there are more winners than there were losers in Subic despite Covid-19, and that the SBMA’s thrust to make Subic enterprises more adaptive to changes under the new normal is also paying off,” she added.

A report from SBMA-TFCD further showed that Japanese manufacturer Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. topped the list of gainers with a freight-on-board (FOB) value of US$79.5 million. This alone already comprised about 25 percent of the total exports in Subic in the first quarter.

The firm operates three factories at the Subic Techno Park and produces, among other electronic products, cooling fans used in mechanical ventilators that move air in and out of the lungs of patients with severe case of Covid-19.

Aside from Sanyo Denki, those that made it to the top 10 exporters list are lock-maker Tong Lung Phils. Metal Industry Co. with US$26 million; sports, athletic goods and outdoor bag manufacturer Philippines Easepal Technology Ltd., US$25.2 million; ultrasonic sensor manufacturer Nicera Philippines Inc., US$23.6 million; wood processor Juken Sangyo Phils. Corp., US$17.16 million; Orica Phils. Inc., which operates a regional manufacturing hub in Limay, Bataan, US$13.9 million; computer builder Wistron Info Comm (Phils) Corp., US$13.9 million; high-end eyewear producer Lindberg Ag-A4-Branch, US$11.07 million; branded shoe manufacturer Da Tian Subic Shoes Inc., US$10.2 million; and precision electronic equipment maker Nidec Subic Phils. Corp., US $8.8 million.

Eisma pointed out that export value generated by the top 10 exporters already comprised 71.4% of the total exports in Subic in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, Ronnie Yambao, OIC-senior deputy administrator for the SBMA Port Operations Group, explained that the increase in imports in the first quarter was largely boosted by the admission of petroleum products into the Subic Bay Freeport.

Still, Sanyo Denki also topped the list of importers for this period with an invoice value of US$54.4 million, SBMA-TFCD records showed.

The other top importers were: chemicals manufacturer Raizen Asia Pte. Ltd (Phil. Branch) with US$37.4 million; Wistron InfoComm, US$33.3 million; fuel trader Golden Share Commerce and Trading Inc., US$32.7 million; Micro Dragon Petroleum Inc., US$19.5 million; Tong Lung Metal, US$$19.1 million; fuel distributor Warbucks Industries Corp., US$12.6 million; Nicera Philippines, US$11.7 million; Nidec Subic, US$10.9 million; and courier firm Air 2100 Inc., US$10.8 million. ~