The Philippines' blue swimming crab industry is facing a major threat to one of its most important export markets, prompting exporters to call for urgent government intervention before a looming US import restriction takes effect.

The grass courts of Birmingham can be slippery places, full of awkward bounces and shortened rallies that punish hesitation. A year ago, Alex Eala found little comfort there, exiting early and leaving with more questions than answers.

The country’s gross international reserves (GIR) reached US$104 billion as at end-May this year, according to preliminary figures from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This reflects a slight drop from the previous month, caused mainly by the national government withdrawing funds from its foreign currency deposits with the central bank to pay off foreign debts, lower value of the BSP’s gold holdings due to falling global gold prices, and net foreign exchange transactions carried out by the central bank.