COVID-19 to have minimal impact on OFW remittances — Palace official

MANILA, Philippines — The government sees a minimal impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on remittances from overseas Filipino workers, a Palace official said Monday.

“We also expect the outbreak to have a minimal impact on OFW remittances. In terms of remittances, keep in mind that mainland China accounts for only 0.1% of total OFW remittances, while Macau and Hong Kong account for 0.4%, and 2.7%, respectively,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Nograles said the government earlier pegged the remittance target for this year at $34.5 billion with a projected growth rate of 3 percent.

However, this was lowered to $34.2 billion or a projected growth of 2.2 percent due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Nevertheless, this shall still breach another record high in overseas Filipinos’ remittances,” Nograles said.

Nograles added that remittances from other countries such as the United States, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia may help compensate for the possible slowdown of remittances from China, Macau and Hong Kong.

“We are encouraged by historical data that shows that Philippine remittances have been resilient even in the face of global downtrends,” Nograles added.

Apart from the remittances, Nograles said the COVID-19 is likewise seen to have a small impact on agriculture, particularly on exports.

“Our banana exports to China, for example, are not slowing down. While there were previous logistical issues during the Chinese Lunar New Year break, this was only a temporary setback, and our banana exports to China have returned to normal,” Nograles said.