The Philippine exports to China are increasing rapidly, an economic official said Thursday.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto B. Santos said in a memorandum to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the government should do well to explore more thoroughly the opportunities offered by China's vast market.

According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), the exports to China rose by 22.9 percent in November 2005 from the same period in 2004, the highest in the top 10 export destinations, reaching 329.09 million US dollars.

Citing the NSO statistics, Santos said that merchandise exports in November 2005 dropped slightly by 1.6 percent, bringing export revenues in the first 11 months last year to 37.4 billion US dollars.

Santos said that the electronic products exports pulled down the total by dropping 1.3 percent in November, even though the agro-based products exports recorded a 2.2-percent growth and mineral products exports a 18.5 percent growth.

Exports to Japan rose by 17.4 percent in November and captured the biggest share of Philippine exports with earnings valued at 632.3 million dollars, followed by the United States with a 17 percent share, Netherlands with 11 percent, and China with 9.1 percent.

Source: Xinhua