Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez IIII
MANILA -- Shipments from China registered marked decline in the first 15 days of February 2020 on account of the lower production and deliveries amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
Data released by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez IIII to journalists on Wednesday showed that the number of twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers from China fell by 62.15 percent in the first half of this month to 11.05 compared to 29.195 during the same period last year.
Dominguez earlier said they were “concerned” on the imports data from China but cited “we believe that the slack will be taken up by the other markets.”
He said this development will impact on Bureau of Custom’s (BOC) revenues.
Dominguez further said retail sales are also down since people now limit their time outside their homes and this will affect revenues of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
“But, you know, we hope that this doesn't last too long,” he said.
Dominguez, however, assured the public that the government has fiscal and monetary measures in place to address any impact of the virus on the domestic economy.
“Actually overall, it's good for the country because you know we have not had any person-to-person transmission here. And I think that the Department of Health has done a very good job. And this drop in sales and revenues for us, is I believe just temporary until this coronavirus contagion is defeated,” he added. (PNA)
