MANILA, Philippines — The country’s trade deficit narrowed in November as exports declined faster than imports, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Preliminary data from the PSA yesterday showed that the balance of trade in goods – the difference between the value of exports and imports – amounted to a $4.767-billion deficit in November last year, slightly lower than the $4.769 billion shortfall in the same month in 2023.
The November trade gap is also smaller than the previous month’s $5.781-billion deficit.
The latest trade deficit figure brought the total shortfall to $49.963 billion in the January to November period, wider than the $48.414 billion in the same period in 2023.
Philippine export sales dropped by 8.7 percent to $5.691 billion in November 2024 from $6.231 billion in the same month in 2023.
Electronic products continued to be the country’s biggest exports, accounting for 48.9 percent of total export sales in November.
Exports of electronic products, however, went down by 20.8 percent to $2.785 billion in November last year from $3.515 billion in the same month in 2023.
The US remained the top market for Philippine exports, accounting for $969.09 million or a 17 percent share of total exports in November last year.
As of end-November, Philippine exports dipped by 0.4 percent to $67.551 billion from $67.833 billion in the same period in 2023.
Philippine imports likewise declined by 4.9 percent to $10.458 billion in November last year from $11 billion in the same month in 2023.
Electronic products posted the highest import value amounting to $2.46 billion or 23.5 percent of the country’s total imports in November.
China remained the country’s biggest supplier of imported goods, with $2.82 billion or 27 percent of the country’s total imports in November.
On the other hand, goods imported by the Philippines in the January to November period went up by 1.1 percent to $117.51 billion from $116.25 billion in the same period of 2023.
“The series of storms or typhoons or floods in the country in the latter part of 2024 could have partly resulted in disruptions and the year-on-year decline in Philippine exports and imports,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.
Total external trade in goods went down by 6.3 percent to $16.149 billion in November 2024 from $17.232 billion in November 2023.