MANILA, Philippines — Trading of commodities in the country suffered a steep decline in the third quarter due to the continued restrictions on mobility and weaker demand from consumers, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
Preliminary results of the Domestic Trade Statistics in the Philippines showed that the total volume of goods traded within the country during the period contracted by 61.6 percent to 2.29 million tons from 5.98 million tons in the same quarter in 2019.
By commodity group, the PSA said beverages and tobacco topped in terms of trade quantity, comprising 24.2 percent of the total. This was followed by machinery and transport equipment, which made up 22.9 percent of the total goods traded during the period.
The total value of goods traded during the period declined by 60.1 percent to P 91.19 from P228.34 billion in the same period last year.
In terms of value, machinery and transport equipment comprised the bulk of the total value, making up 36 percent of total.
During the three-month period, trade balance – the difference between the outflow value and the inflow value – was most favorable in Northern Mindanao which registered a trade balance of P14.27 billion; Eastern Visayas, P12.83 billion; and Bicol Region, P4.56 billion.
Central Visayas, on the other hand, had the highest negative trade balance of P14.26 billion during the period.
The PSA compiles domestic trade statistics from coasting manifests and coastwise passenger manifests from major ports and other active seaports listed by the Philippine Ports of Authority all over the country.
It also collects air waybills from Philippine Airlines as source of domestic trade statistics from air.