Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 10) — The country’s export sector improved slightly, leading to a narrower trade gap in August.
According to latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the trade deficit was at $2.41 billion in August, 33.1 percent lower than the $3.6-billion deficit in the same month last year.
A trade deficit happens when a country imports more than it exports.
This reflected the 0.6 percent recovery of the export sector and the 11.8 percent decline in the imports sector.
Total export sales in August was at $6.25 billion, a 0.6 percent increase from the $6.22 exported in August last year.
Electronic products continued to be the country’s top export items, accounting for 57.5 percent of the total revenue in August at $3.66 billion. There was also 6.6 percent increase in the exports from that sector.
Exports to the US made up 15.9 percent of all sales in August, at $992.7 billion. This was followed by China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Germany, Netherlands and Thailand.
Meanwhile, the country imported $8.66 billion worth of goods in August 2019, 11.8 percent less than the $9.81 billion worth of imports in August 2018.
A majority of these imports, based on commodity group, were electronic products, at $2.35 billion, followed by mineral fuels, transport equipment and industrial machinery and equipment.
Most of the country’s imports came from China, at $2 billion or 23.1 percent of the total import share in August. This was followed by Japan, the US, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
In a statement, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the decline in imports could be an area of concern.
“As subdued investments in emerging markets, coupled with the persisting trade tensions, continue to hamper global expansion, implementation of timely reforms will vastly improve the country’s resilience to external shocks,” Pernia said.
He added the government should continue its programs to improve the export sector.
