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The Philippines’ trade deficit declined 6.2% in the first half of the year
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Total external trade declined 8.5% in the first half as both imports and exports recorded decreases
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Imports fell 8% while exports went down 9.3%
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Electronic products continued to be the country’s top import and export
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China was the country’s top import source and export destination
The Philippines’ trade deficit dropped 6.2% in the first half of the year from the comparable period last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The balance of trade in goods for the first semester of 2023 stood at $27.98 billion.
External trade declined 8.5% to $97.87 billion in the first half of 2023 as both imports and exports slipped.
Imports dropped 8% to $62.92 billion from $68.38 billion. Imports have declined from February to June 2023.
Exports also saw a decline of 9.3% to $34.94 billion from $38.54 billion last year. Exports have been on a downward trend since December 2022 but showed signs of improvement in May and June 2023.
By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country’s top import and export despite having the highest annual decline in both import and export figures.
Electronic products accounted for 21.3%, or $13.39 billion, of the total import bill and 55.3%, or $19.31 billion, of the total export bill.
In terms of major types of goods, manufactured goods continued to contribute the largest to the country’s total exports in the first semester of 2023, amounting to $28.12 billion, or a share of 80.5%.
For imports, raw materials and intermediate goods remained the largest category in the first semester of 2023, with $22.87 billion, or 36.3%, of the total import bill.
China remained the Philippines’ top supplier of imported goods in the first semester of 2023, with imports valued at $14.10 billion, making up 22.4% of the country’s total imports. This was followed by Indonesia at $5.97 billion; Japan at $5.20 billion; South Korea at $4.30 billion; and the USA at $4.23 billion.
China was likewise the top export destination for the Philippines during the first half of the year, with exports totaling $5.58 billion, accounting for 16% of the total export bill.
Other top export destinations included the US at $5.22 billion; Japan at $5.19 billion; Hong Kong at $3.84 billion; and Singapore at $1.87 billion.
