PH trade deficit shrinks in H1
At A Glance
- The Philippines had a trade deficit, importing more than it exported in the first half of the year.<br>Imports decreased by eight percent to $62.89 billion.<br>Export sales decreased by nine percent to $34.94 billion.<br>The People's Republic of China was the largest supplier of imported goods, accounting for 22.4 percent of total imports.<br>The US was the top buyer of Philippine-made goods, representing 14.9 percent of total exports.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country maintained a trade deficit in the first half of the year by importing more goods than it exported, but the gap has narrowed due to the decreased value of the traded products.
The trade balance in goods, representing the discrepancy between the country’s export and import values reached $27.95 billion between January and June 2023, a 6.3 percent drop compared to the previous year's $29.84 billion.
Based on the PSA data, the decrease in the trade deficit was driven by smaller transactions of traded goods between the Philippines and other countries, totaling $97.84 billion. This declined by 8.4 percent from $106.91 billion recorded in the first half of 2022.
In June alone, the trade deficit fell 33 percent to $3.92 billion from $5.88 billion in the same month last year. Total external trade also dropped by 9.6 percent from $19.16 billion a year ago to $17.32 billion.
According to the PSA report, imports in the first half of the year totaled $62.89 billion, showing an eight percent decrease compared to $68.38 billion in the same period last year.
The top 10 imported goods included electronic products, mineral fuels and lubricants, transport equipment, industrial machinery and equipment, and other food and live animals.
Also included are metalliferous ores and metal scrap, miscellaneous manufactured articles, iron and steel, telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery, and cereals and cereal preparations.
The People's Republic of China continued to hold the top spot as the largest supplier of imported goods to the Philippines, representing 22.4 percent of the total, which amounted to $14.1 billion.
Imports amounted to $10.62 billion in June, down 15 percent from $12.52 billion in the same month of the previous year.
On the other hand, the country's export sales for the first half of the year amounted to $34.94 billion, a nine percent decrease compared to $38.53 billion in the same period last year.
The top export goods from the Philippines included electronic products, other manufactured goods, other mineral products, machinery and transport equipment, as well as ignition wiring sets and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft, and ships.
Additionally, the list of major exports included cathodes and sections of refined copper, chemicals, fresh bananas, metal components, and copper concentrates.
The United States of America emerged as the largest purchaser of Philippine-made goods, with a total of $5.22 billion in the first half of the year, representing 14.9 percent of the overall exports.
Additionally, in the month of June alone, export sales recorded a slight increase of 0.8 percent, reaching $6.70 billion compared to $6.64 billion in the same month of the previous year.