Philippine exports sustained double-digit growth in October as it recovered from the impact of United States’ trade policies.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Friday showed a 19.4 percent annual jump in exports to $7.30 billion, against $6.2 billion during the same period last year.

In September, exports jumped by 16.2 percent to $7.25 billion.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Roque said in an interview that officials are committed to bolstering exports’ expansion by diversifying markets for Philippine products.

On Aug. 7, the 19 percent reciprocal tariff imposed by the US took effect, and this hurt the expansion in the Philippines’ exports to just 4.6 percent.

Roque said it is a good thing the US excluded from the implementation a number of agricultural products, such as coconut oil.

PNA PHOTO