The Philippines’ exports to the European Union have “increased remarkably” at 36% in the first half of 2017, said the European Union ambassador to the Philippines, Franz Jessen, describing the growth as “enormous” and attributing this to the Philippines’ GSP+ status since December 2014.
Under the EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences, the Philippines is able to export goods to the EU with zero duties, In 2016 alone, it was able to export €1.71 billion ($2.01 billion) worth of goods and services to the EU, InterAksyon.com reported.
In the first quarter of 2017, the EU became the fastest growing and largest export market for Philippine goods, making up 15.5% of the total exports.
In the agricultural sector, exports to EU reached almost P50 billion ($977.5 million) in 2016, and over 75% of this entered the EU duty-free, said Jessen.
Agri-oil products, electrical machinery, processed meat and fish, optical products and processed vegetables, nuts and fruits are the top Philippine exports to the EU under the GSP+ for 2017.
