Exports improve, cut trade deficit

Philippine trade deficit decreased in October as exports surged and imports contracted, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.

The $3.83-billion deficit was markedly lower than the year-earlier $5.81 billion, plunging by 34.2 percent, and also fell from $4.67 billion in September.

China and Hong Kong, with a total of $1.832 billion goods bought, are the biggest buyers of local products. 

Second biggest is the United States with a 15.7-percent share or $1.16 billion. 

Others are Japan ($1.04 billion, 14.1 percent), Hong Kong, ($964.5 million, 13.0 percent), China ($868.44 million, 11.7 percent) and Germany ($347.26 million, 4.7 percent).

Exports ramped up by 19.4 percent year on year to $7.39 billion from $6.19 billion, rebounding from a 5.0-percent drop a year ago, and also rose from the previous month’s $7.27 billion.

October’s year-on-year growth improved from September’s 16.2 percent.

Imports, meanwhile, reversed from 11.6-percent growth in October 2024 to a 6.5-percent slump to $11.22 billion from $12.0 billion. Last September saw inbound shipments grow by 5.1 percent.

Of the $18.61 billion in total external trade, which grew by a slower 2.3 percent compared to 5.3 percent a year ago and 9.1 percent in September, 60.3 percent comprised imports and 39.7 percent were goods shipped abroad.

Year to date, the cumulative trade deficit rose from $37.49 billion as of end-September to $41.32 billion but narrowed from $45.25 billion in January-October 2024.

Ten-month exports rose to $70.43 billion from $61.9 billion, up by 13.8 percent, and imports for the period were also higher at $111.75 billion — 4.3 percent higher — compared to the year ago $107.14 billion.

Electronic products remained the country’s biggest export, accounting for $4.18 billion or 56.6 percent of total outbound shipments in October.

Following were machinery and transport equipment ($426.07 million or 5.8 percent of total exports) and other manufactured goods ($394.76 million, 5.3 percent).

As for imports, electronic products also took the biggest share at $2.97 billion or 26.5 percent of the October total.