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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Philippine trade gap reaches $5.8 billion in Oct. amid weak exports

Philippine trade gap reaches $5.8 billion in Oct. amid weak exports

Published Dec 10, 2024 04:34 am

The country’s trade deficit widened by 36.8 percent to $5.8 billion in October this year compared to the previous year, driven by a surge in imports and a decline in exports.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the country's total external trade in goods reached $18.13 billion in October 2024, a 4.9 percent increase from the previous year.

However, this growth was primarily fueled by imports, which accounted for 66 percent of total trade.

The PSA noted that total export sales in October amounted to $6.16 billion, a 5.5 percent decrease compared to October 2023, marking the third consecutive month of declining exports.

The electronic products sector posted the most significant decline, with a decrease of $868.86 million.

Despite the recent downturn, year-to-date total exports from January to October 2024 increased by 0.4 percent compared to the same period in 2023 to $61.83 billion.

Electronic products remained the country's top export, accounting for 46.5 percent of total exports in October.

In contrast to the export trend, the total value of imported goods in October reached $11.96 billion, higher by 11.2 percent from October last year.

The PSA said that electronic products, transport equipment, cereals, and cereal preparations were the main contributors to this import growth.

Year-to-date imports from January to October also showed an increase of 1.7 percent compared to the same period a year ago, reaching $107.05 billion.

Electronic products accounted for the largest share of imports in October, at 22.3%.

The United States remained the Philippines' top export market in October, accounting for 16.2 percent of total exports. Other major export destinations included Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

The majority of exports (84 percent) went to countries within the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc.

On the other hand, China was the Philippines' largest source of imports during the month, accounting for 25.6 percent of the total.

Other major import sources included Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and the United States. Similar to exports, the majority of imports (85.1 percent) came from APEC member countries.

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Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) trade deficit Philippine imports Philippine exports
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