Malacañang sudden declaration of May 3 as a non-working holiday has drawn mixed reactions from the business community. SEIPI said the pronouncement - made just five days before the scheduled holiday - came as a headache for the industry.

Philippine imports continued to increase in February, but at a slower pace of 27.61% from 31.1% in January as growth in inward shipments of oil and related products eased, data released yesterday by the NSO showed.

Exporters who have only recently begun enjoying the global economic pick-up are now grappling with a strengthening peso, which they fear will make their prices unattractive to foreign buyers.

The data prompted the country's main exporter chamber and the group of semiconductor and electronics firms to consider upgrading their growth projections for the year. "Demand for electronic products is stronger... I think that the sector will have a good year," Arthur J. Young Jr., chairman of SEIPI said.

Double-digit growth in merchandise imports for December allowed a forgone contraction in electronic product shipments - the first in 22 months - bolstering industry optimism. The strong imports data for December was supported by an 8.5% rebound in shipments of electronic products, valued at $1.23 billion.

Merchandise exports grew for the second straight month last December at a hefty 23.6% rate, sustained by continued demand in key markets said to have recovered from the global economic downturn. SEIPI expects the uptick in electronic shipments this year to be withing a range of 10-15%.

The country's exports plunged by 21.9 percent to $38.33 billion in 2009 from $49.078 billion in 2008 as demand for locally-made products defined substantially due to the global financial crisis, the NSO reported yesterday. But for December alone, exports daw their first double-digit rise in 22 months, as the recovery from the effects of the global financial crisis gathered pace.