Philippine trade deficit widened to $6B in August — PSA data

The Philippine trade gap widened further in August as imports grew at a faster pace than imports, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed.

The balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) recorded a $6.002-billion deficit in August, 81.3% higher than the $3.310 billion the same month last year and the $5.989 billion in July.

Total export sales for the month stood at $6.410 billion, reflecting a 2.0% decline from the $6.539 billion the same month last year, but higher than the $6.217 billion in July.

The biggest jumps were recorded in coconut oil (up 26.6%); other manufactured goods (16.5%); fresh bananas (5.1%); ignition wiring sets (4.3%); electronic equipment and parts (2.1%), and metal components.

Decliners were seen in other mineral products (down 23.8%); chemicals (9.5%); machinery and transport equipment (2.4%); and electronic products (1.6%).

Exports to the United States of America accounted for $1.05 billion or 16.3% of the total during the month, followed by Japan with $931.35 million or 14.5%; China with $839.19 million or 11.4%, and Singapore with $433.89 million or 6.8%.

Meanwhile, imports for the month were recorded at $12.412 billion, indicating a 26.0% increase from the $9.850 billion in August 2021, and up from the $12.206 billion in July.

Double-digit increases were recorded in transport equipment (75.8%); mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (75.6%); other food and live animals (43.0%); cereals and cereal preparations (42.1%); telecommunication equipment (30.9%); miscellaneous manufactured articles (20.9%); industrial machinery and equipment (16.2%); and iron and steel (15.7%).

The biggest share of imports came from China, with $2.71 billion or 21.8%. It was followed by Indonesia with $1.35 billion or 10.8%; Japan with $1 billion or 8.1%; South Korea with $939.10 million or 7.6%; and Singapore with $853.78 million or 6.9%.

The total external trade for the month amounted to $18.82 billion, up by 14.8% from the previous month. This was faster than the 11.8% growth in July, but slower than the 24.4% growth in August 2021. — RSJ, GMA News