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PH trade deficit eased to $3.3-B in Oct. ‘22

By Kris Crismundo

December 13, 2022, 6:14 pm

<p><em>(PNA file photo) </em></p>

(PNA file photo) 

MANILA – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday that the balance of trade in October this year incurred a deficit of USD3.31 billion.

The country’s trade deficit in October, however, slowed down both month-on-month and year-on-year basis by 31 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively. Trade deficit in September 2022 amounted to USD4.84 billion, while October 2021’s deficit was at USD3.82 billion.

This, as exports further grew in October while imports eased compared to the previous month.

Philippine export revenues in October 2022 stood at USD7.69 billion, up by 7.4 percent from USD7.16 billion worth of exports in September this year. It was also higher by 20 percent from exports of USD6.41 billion a year ago.

Imports declined by 8.4 percent month-on-month from USD12 billion, while year-on-year, import increased by 7.5 percent from USD10.2 billion.

“In October 2022, the country’s total external trade in goods amounted to USD18.70 billion which indicates an annual growth rate of 12.3 percent from its level in the same period of the previous year. In September 2022, its annual increase was slower at 11.5 percent, while in October 2021, it expanded at a faster rate of 13.8 percent,” PSA noted.

Imports shared 58.8 percent of the country’s external trade in October, while exports shared 41.2 percent.

Electronic products remain the country’s top exports, sharing 66.3 percent (USD5.1 billion) of the total export revenues.

Revenues of electronics exports led the growth of exported products of the country with 39.6 percent increase, followed by ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft, and ships, up by 26.1 percent, and machinery and transport equipment, with an uptick of 1.9 percent.

Top export destinations of Philippine products in October were Hong Kong (USD1.28 billion, United States (USD1.18 billion), Japan (USD999.67 million), China (USD959 million), and Singapore (438.03 million).

Meanwhile, electronic products were also the most imported goods in October, with imports amounting to USD2.88 billion. However, electronics imports slipped by 0.4 percent year-on-year.

Commodity groups with highest growth in imports last October were metalliferous ores and metal scrap, surging by 462.7 percent; transport equipment, up by 46.3 percent; other food and live animals, up by 40.3 percent; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, up by 29.7 percent; and miscellaneous manufactured articles, up by 10.2 percent.

Top import sources for the country in October were China (USD2.22 billion), Indonesia (USD1.27 billion), Japan (USD1.01 billion), South Korea (USD920 million), and U.S. (USD767.87 million). (PNA) 

 

 

 

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