The country’s trade deficit widened in March as exports fell at a sharper pace versus imports, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
According to the PSA, the balance of trade in goods recorded a deficit of $4.93 billion, 7.5 percent wider than the $4.56 billion trade deficit recorded in March last year.
To compare, the trade deficit was also lower in the previous month at $3.91 billion.
The country’s total export sales in March 2023 amounted to $6.53 billion, reflecting a slower decrease of 9.1 percent from a decline of 18.1 percent in the previous month. In March 2022, the total export sales grew at an annual rate of six percent.
The commodity group with the highest annual decline in the value of exports in March 2023 was electronic products, which dropped by $479.41 million. This was followed by coconut oil which decreased by $51.82 million and travel goods and handbags by $34.69 million.
Meanwhile, the total imported goods in March 2023 amounted to $11.46 billion, indicating a decline of 2.7 percent.
In February 2023, it recorded a faster decrease of 11.8 percent, while in March 2022, it exhibited a double-digit annual hike of 23.4 percent.
The commodity group with the highest decline in the value of imported goods in March was mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at $519.28 million. This was followed by electronic products that declined by $415.29 million and medicinal and pharmaceutical products by $221.01 million.
The country’s total external trade in goods in March 2023 amounted to $17.98 billion, dropping 5.1 percent from its level of $18.95 billion in the same period of the previous year.
In February 2023, it recorded a year-on-year decrease of 14.2 percent, while in March 2022, it expanded at an annual rate of 16.2 percent.
Of the total external trade in March 2023, 63.7 percent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods.
