The country’s trade deficit narrowed in April as the growth of exports outpaced that of imports, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The balance of trade in goods in April 2024 amounted to -$4.76 billion, indicating a trade deficit with an annual decrease of 1.5 percent from the year ago level of $4.83 billion.
The trade gap for April however is higher than March 2024’s deficit of $3.44 billion.
Total export sales in April 2024 amounted to $6.22 billion, recording an annual increase of 26.4 percent from the $4.92 billion total exports in the same month of the previous year.
The commodity group with the highest annual increase in the value of exports in April 2024 was electronic products with $891.83 million.
This was followed by coconut oil which grew $125.28 million and other mineral products with $80.64 million.
Year-to-date, the total value of exports amounted to $24.19 billion, up 9.6 percent from the export value of $22.07 billion in January to April 2023.
Meanwhile, the total imported goods in April 2024 amounted to $10.98 billion, posting a 12.6 percent growth from the $9.75 billion import value in the same month of the previous year.
The commodity group with the highest annual increase in the value of imported goods was electronic products with $191.05 million.
This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials which increased by $129.01 million, and iron and steel which posted a growth of $113.05 million.
The year-to-date annual total import value amounted to $40.46 billion, down 2.2 percent from the $41.36 billion in January to April 2023.
In April, the country’s total external trade in goods amounted to $17.19 billion, recording a 17.2 percent jump from the $14.66 billion total external trade in the same period of the previous year.
