MANILA - Philippine exports of electronics and semiconductors, accounting for more than half of the country's total, are likely to rise in the third quarter from the previous quarter, the head of an industry group said on Friday.

The seasonally strong third quarter will still register a decline in exports from a year earlier, but the fall should be slower than the 25% year-on-year drop seen in the second quarter, Arthur Young, chairman of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc, told Reuters.

"Definitely, I think third quarter should be a double digit growth compared to quarter 2 2009, but it will be lower than quarter 3 2008, Young said.

"Initially we thought it was a lot of inventory rebuilding and restocking, but I think that we are past that, I think there is really demand," he said, adding orders were coming mainly from netbook and laptop computer makers.

The industry group is sticking with its forecast of a 15% to 20% fall this year in electronics exports.