Agri trade deficit growth slows down in Q2
At A Glance
- The country's trade deficit growth for agricultural goods slowed in the second quarter.<br>The trade deficit for agricultural goods from April to June was $2.71 billion, an increase of 0.2 percent compared to the same period last year.<br>The increase in trade deficit during the quarter, however, was slower compared to the 14.6 percent recorded in the same period last year and the 10.2 percent registered in the first three months.<br>According to Philippine Statistics Authority data, the top three major agricultural commodities exported to ASEAN member countries in the second quarter of 2023 were:<br>Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes: $75.95 million.<br>Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products, prepared edible fats, animal or vegetable waxes: $26.98 million.<br>Preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk, pastrycooks' products: $15.03 million.
The growth of the country's trade deficit for agricultural goods slowed in the second quarter as exports plunged, outweighing a decline in imports, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported.
In a report, the PSA said the total balance of trade in agricultural goods, or the difference between the value of exports and imports, posted a deficit of $2.71 billion from April to June this year.
The gap inched up by 0.2 percent compared to $2.703 billion the same period last year.
However, the increase in the trade deficit was slower compared to the 14.6 percent recorded in the same period last year and the 10.2 percent registered in the first three months of 2023.
Meanwhile, the total agricultural trade for the second quarter posted a decline of 14.9 percent.
This was lower than the annual rate of 25.2 percent recorded in the same period a year ago, but a bit higher than the rate of 8.5 percent in the first quarter of the year.
Total agricultural exports experienced a decline of 24.4 percent or $1.61 billion from April to June, while agricultural imports accounted for $4.32 billion or 13.8 percent of the total agricultural trade.
Moreover, the PSA data also said agricultural export revenue dropped to $1.61 billion or by 24.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter of 2023, from $2.13 billion agricultural export revenue in the second quarter of 2022.
In the second quarter of 2023, the value of agricultural exports accounted for 8.9 percent of the country’s total exports.
The top 10 commodity groups in terms of value of agricultural exports contributed $1.56 billion or 96.9 percent of the total agricultural export revenue in the second quarter of 2023.
The combined agricultural export value of the groups posted an annual decrease of 24.2 percent during the quarter.
Among the commodity groups, edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit melons, which was valued at $521.86 million, comprised the largest share of 32.3 percent to the total agricultural exports for the second quarter of this year. (Xander Dave G. Ceballos)