PH trade deficit narrows to $4-B in August
At A Glance
- The Philippine trade deficit narrowed by 34% to $4.13 billion in August compared to the previous year. <br>Export sales increased to $6.70 billion, slightly higher than the $6.43 billion booked in the same month in 2022. Electronic products and cathodes experienced significant increases in export values. Major trading partners for exports included the United States, Japan, and Hong Kong.<br>Total export earnings from January to July decreased by 6.6% to $47.81 billion.<br>Import receipts in July decreased by 13.1% to $10.83 billion. Notable declines in import values were observed in electronic products, iron and steel, and mineral fuels and lubricants.<br>Major suppliers of imported goods included China, Indonesia, and Japan.<br>Total import value from January to August decreased by 9.6% to $84.12 billion.
The Philippines’ trade deficit plunged in August to $4.13 billion as total external trade decreased, the Philippine Statistics Authority said on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
The trade deficit in August narrowed by 34 percent from the $6.3 billion booked in the same month last year. It is also lower compared to the $4.2 billion recorded in July this year.
The August trade balance brought the country’s eight-month deficit to $36.3 billion, lower by 13.3 percent from $41.86 billion in the same period last year.
“In August 2023, the country’s total external trade in goods amounted to USD 17.53 billion, which indicates an annual decline of 7.2 percent from the USD 18.89 billion total external trade in the same period of the previous year,” the PSA said.
Exports in August amounted to $6.7 billion, slightly higher than the $6.43 billion booked in the same month in 2022.
During the month, electronic products posted the highest increase in the value of exports from $3.654 billion in the same period last year to $3.875 billion in August. This was followed by other cathodes and sections of cathodes from $30.90 million to $365.37 million.
Gold also increased from $45.93 million to $124.17 million, while chemicals went up from $113.61 million to $145.95 million. Other mineral products also increased from $277.93 million to $310.16 million in August
Imports, meanwhile, continued to surpass export receipts, hitting $10.83 billion during the month. However, the PSA noted that this was 13.1 percent lower than the $12.46 billion generated in the same month a year earlier.
The drop was recorded in the import of electronic products from $2.886 billion a year ago to $2.242 billion in August, followed by iron and steel from $630.31 million to $371.47 million, and mineral fuels and lubricants by $2.105 billion to $1.970 billion.
Moreover, cereals and cereal preparations decreased by $528.51 million to $425.48 million while transport equipment was down from $957.68 million to $866.16 million.
Among top trading partners of exports, the United States (US) came first consuming 16.4 percent of total exports or $1.10 billion during the month. Japan followed it at 13.7 percent or $917.98 billion, and Hong Kong at 13 percent or $870.91 billion.
From January to August, total export earnings amounted to $47.81 billion, lower by 6.6 percent compared with $51.18 billion in the same period last year.
For the largest suppliers of imported goods, China topped the list supplying 22.4 percent of the country’s total imports or $2.43 billion.
It was followed by Indonesia at 9 percent or $977.16 million, and Japan at 7.3 percent or $786.65 million. South Korea and the US came in 4th and 5th respectively.
In the first eight months of the year, the total import value reached $84.12 billion, a decline of 9.6 percent compared with $93.5 billion last year in the same period.