Philippine trade deficit widened over 14 times in April —PSA

Published June 09, 2021 02:25 PM By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS,GMA News

The Philippine trade deficit widened by over 14 times year-on-year in April as imports recorded nearly twice the growth of exports, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced Wednesday.

Preliminary data from the PSA showed that the balance of trade in goods expanded by 1361.5% to a $2.734.32-billion deficit in April.

This compares with the $187.10-million deficit in April last year, and the $2.751-billion deficit in March.

A deficit indicates that the value of a country's imports exceeded export receipts, while a surplus indicates more export shipments than imports.

Total external trade for the month rose 107.5% to $14.16 billion of which imports accounted for 59.7% and the rest were exported goods.

Imported goods jumped 140.9% to $8.45 billion, driven by the increase in all of the top major commodity groups.

Top growth drivers include transport equipment up 547.4%; mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials up 387.9%, and other food and live animals up 283.1%.

Triple-digit growth was also recorded in miscellaneous manufactured articles which grew 212.3%; plastics by 206.3%; cereals and cereal preparations by 154.5%; industrial machinery and equipment by 124.1%; and telecommunication equipment by 103.0%.

Most of the imports for the month came from China which accounted for 25.5% of the total, estimated to be worth $2.16 billion.

It was followed by China with $811.84 million, the United States of America with $602.39 million, Indonesia with $596.80 million, and South Korea with $542.43 million.

On the other hand, export sales climbed at a slower annual rate of 72.1% to $5.71 billion. All top major commodity groups posted growth.

The top export for the month was ignition wiring sets which grew by 1,237.6%, followed by metal components by 345.2%, miscellaneous manufactured articles by 256.1%; other mineral products by 198.5%; and other manufactured goods by 172.1%.

China was also the top trading partner in terms of exports, accounting for $953.23 million or 16.7% of the total outbound shipments for the month.

It was followed by the United States of America with $857.45 million, Japan with $819.27 million, Hong Kong with $753.03 million, and Singapore with $315.69 million.

Year-to-date, the trade deficit came in at $11.091 billion as exports stood at $23.368 billion while imports were $34.460 billion.—AOL, GMA News
 

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