The country’s trade deficit widened in September as imports recorded an increase while exports contracted during the said month.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the balance of trade in goods in September amounted to -$5.09 billion, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increase of 43.4 percent.
The country’s total export sales in September 2024 amounted to $6.26 billion, posting a 7.6 percent decline from the $6.77 billion total export sales in the same month of the previous year.
The commodity group with the highest annual decline in the value of exports in September 2024 was electronic products with $945.82 million.
This was followed by copper concentrates with an annual decrease of $41.68 million; and cathodes and sections of cathodes of refined copper with an annual decline of $21.8 million.
The year-to-date annual total value of exports amounted to $55.67 billion.
This represents a year-on-year increase of 1.1 percent from the year-to-date annual total export value of $55.08 billion in January to September 2023.
The total imported goods in September amounted to $11.34 billion, i a growth of 9.9 percent from the $10.32 billion import value in the same month of the previous year.
In September, the commodity group with the highest annual increase in the value of imported goods was metalliferous ores and metal scrap with $260.98 million.
This was followed by electronic products, which increased by $197.03 million and other food and live animals with an annual increment of $140.63 million.
Year-to-date, the annual total import value totaled to $95.07 billion.
This represents a 0.6 percent growth from the total import value of $94.49 billion in January to September 2023.
