| |
Philippines
The business environment has not been good in the
Philippines in recent years; security concerns and the upcoming 2004 elections
have created an uncertain atmosphere. But the country’s economist
President Gloria Arroyo chooses to counter the criticism through performance.
The Philippines is one of the few Asia-Pacific economies to have maintained
positive growth through 2001 and 2002 – real GDP growth in 2002
was 4.6%, exceeding public and private sector expectations. Inflation
is now below 3% (the government 2002 target was 4.5-5.5%), and monetary
policy is stable, with the Philippine peso less volatile than in the past.
As the world’s third-largest English-speaking nation,
with an abundant supply of educated and trainable high-school and college
graduates, the Philippines is still the world’s leading supplier
of seafarers. But it faces ever-increasing availability and quality of
seafarers from India, Indonesia, Russia, Eastern Europe and, most of all,
China. The Philippines has been putting its house in order, clamping down
on bogus certificates and ‘cheating’, in an effort to restore
its competitive edge and maintain its leading position as a supplier of
quality seafarers.
| geo-economic data |
| Population: |
82.8m |
| National capital: |
Manila |
| Land area: |
300,439 sq km |
| Currency: |
Philippine Peso (PHP) |
| GDP: |
US$76.89bn |
| GDP per capita: |
US$930 |
| Real GDP growth: |
4.6% |
| Unemployment: |
10.2% |
| Inflation: |
2.7% (at Jan ’03) |
| Merchandise exports: |
US$35.07bn 9.1% growth |
| Merchandise imports: |
US$33.47bn 13.3% growth |
| ISL KEY Port data |
| Cagayan de Oro |
| No of ships: |
14,064 |
|
|
| Ship tonnage (’000 gt): |
22,615 |
|
|
| Cargo traffic (’000 MT) |
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
%
general
cargo |
%
dry
bulk |
%
liquid
bulk |
| 15,341 |
7727 |
7614 |
23.1 |
68.5 |
8.4 |
|
| Container traffic (TEU) |
|
|
|
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
containerisation
% |
| 383,136 |
186,365 |
196,771 |
86.3 |
|
| Davao |
| No of ships: |
16,165 |
|
|
| Ship tonnage (’000 gt): |
17,380 |
|
|
| Cargo traffic (’000 MT) |
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
%
general
cargo |
%
dry
bulk |
%
liquid
bulk |
| 7409 |
4048 |
3361 |
70.6 |
16.3 |
13.2 |
|
| Cebu* |
| No of ships: |
... |
|
|
| Ship tonnage (’000 gt): |
... |
|
|
| Cargo traffic (’000 MT) |
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
%
general
cargo |
%
dry
bulk |
%
liquid
bulk |
| 16,863 |
8030 |
8833 |
... |
... |
... |
|
| Container traffic (TEU) |
|
|
|
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
containerisation
% |
| 4436 |
2315 |
2121 |
9.7 |
|
| Iloilo |
| No of ships: |
19,278 |
|
|
| Ship tonnage (’000 gt): |
16,861 |
|
|
| Cargo traffic (’000 MT) |
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
%
general
cargo |
%
dry
bulk |
%
liquid
bulk |
| 3656 |
891 |
2765 |
71.5 |
9.3 |
19.2 |
|
| Container traffic (TEU) |
|
|
|
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
containerisation
% |
| 1,322,756 |
649,665 |
673,091 |
86.6 |
|
| Manila |
| No of ships: |
18,696 |
|
|
| Ship tonnage (’000 gt): |
83,679 |
|
|
| Cargo traffic (’000 MT) |
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
%
general
cargo |
%
dry
bulk |
%
liquid
bulk |
| 41,863 |
13,125 |
28,738 |
81.2 |
... |
... |
|
| Container traffic (TEU) |
|
|
|
| total |
loaded |
unloaded |
containerisation
% |
| 2,296,151 |
1,142,892 |
1,153,259 |
78.5 |
|
Geoecon stats: NSO Philippines. 2002 figures unless
stated.
Port stats: ISL Port Data Base. 2001 unless stated. *=2000.
|
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