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MANILA – Philippine exports in February this year registered its biggest drop since August 2020, declining by 18.1 percent to USD5.08 billion from USD6.2 billion in the same month in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday.
This decline in export revenues dragged the country’s total external trade in February to USD14.03 billion, down by 14.4 percent from USD16.24 billion in the same period last year.
Aside from export revenues, the country’s imports in February also fell by 12.1 percent year-on-year to USD8.95 billion from USD10.99 billion.
Export revenues has been down for three consecutive months since December 2022.
The PSA attributed lower export revenues to the decline in shipments of the country’s top export product --electronic products-- which declined to USD2.68 billion from USD3.44 billion over a year.
Other products that contributed to the decline in exports in February include coconut oil; other mineral products; cathodes and sections of cathodes of refined copper; and travel goods and handbags.
Top destinations for Philippine goods in February this year were Japan, the United States, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Meanwhile, lower imports of electronic goods also slashed the country’s total import value in February this year.
Electronic goods imports fell to USD2.13 billion from USD2.49 billion year-on-year.
Sectors with lower imports in February this year also include transport equipment, cereals and cereal preparations, iron and steel, and chemical materials and products.
Top import sources for the country for February were China, Indonesia, Japan, US and South Korea. (PNA)
