Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 9) — The country’s trade deficit shrank to its lowest in five months last November, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed.
Exported goods grew annually by 3% during the month, the fastest increase recorded since February. Exports amounted to $5.79 billion during the period.
Imports continued to contract in November, declining by 18.9% year-on-year. This is the slowest growth imported goods logged in four months. The products hit a total value of $7.52 billion during the period.
With this, the trade deficit amounted to $1.73 billion in November, plunging by 52.6% from the year prior.
A trade deficit means a country imports more than it exports goods.
Majority of exports’ main commodity groups yielded positive annual growth rates, with cathodes and refined coppers leading the surge with an 83.2% year-on-year growth. Gold and coconut oil come afterwards, expanding by 59.5% and 40.4% respectively compared to 2019.
However, other mineral products and other manufactured goods both contracted by 14.4%. Machinery and transport equipment also shrank during the period by 5.9%.
Most of the country’s exports went to the United States, logging the highest export value at $956.8 million of the total exports in November. It is followed by China at $923.65 million, Japan at $872.95 million, Hong Kong at $736.13 million and Singapore at $313.89 million.
Meanwhile, all major commodity groups of imported goods contracted annually in November. Transport equipment suffered the most with a -42.7% growth rate, followed by industrial machinery and equipment declining by 32.6%. Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials likewise fell during the period by 30.2%.
The Philippines imported the most from China, with total goods amounting to $2.02 billion. Japan comes next at $734.35 million, the US at $554.4 million, Indonesia at $545.58 million, and South Korea at $528.88 million.
