Philippines opens 2026 with wider trade deficit

The Philippines opened 2026 with a wider trade deficit, as imports grew at a faster pace than exports for the month of January, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Friday showed.

The balance of trade in goods — the difference between the value of exports and imports — posted a $4.048-billion deficit in the past month, wider than the $3.993-billion deficit in December, but narrower than the $4.926-billion deficit in January 2025.

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

Exports for the month stood at $7.093 billion, up 7.9% from the $6.571 billion the same month last year, and higher than the $7.026 billion recorded in December.

Broken down by major type of goods, manufactured goods contributed $5.63 billion or 79.3%, followed by mineral products with $732.32 million, and total agro-based products with $573.84 million.

Electronic products were the top export for the month with $4.01 billion or 56.5% of the total outward shipments, followed by gold with 6.9%, and machinery and transport equipment with $383.18 million.

Electronic products also posted the highest annual growth in January with a $634.18-million jump, followed by gold with $354.18 million, machinery and transport equipment with $155.57 million, pineapple with $22.69 million, and dessicated coconut with $13.64 million.

The United States continued to be the biggest recipient of Philippine exports in January with $1.16 billion or 16.4%, followed by Hong Kong with $1.12 billion or 15.9%, Japan with $871.73 million or 12.3%, China with $691.80 million or 9.8%, and South Korea with $391.75 million or 5.5%.

Imports, meanwhile, were recorded at $11.141 billion, higher than the $11.019 billion in December but 3.1% lower than the $11.497 billion in January 2025.

Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods accounted for the largest share with $3.87 billion or 34.7%, followed by capital goods with $3.77 billion or 33.9%, and consumer goods with $2.24 billion or 20.1%.

Electronic products were also the biggest import for the month with $2.99 billion, followed by mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials with $1.21 billion, and transport equipment with $877.92 million.

The biggest annual drops were seen in mineral fuels down $403.97 million, metalliferous ores and metal scrap down $184.17 million, iron and steel down $97.87 million, industrial machinery and equipment down $72.74 million, and non-metallic mineral manufactures down $44.34 million.

China remained the biggest source of imports with $3.26 billion or 29.2%, backed by Korea with $1.25 billion or 11.2%, Japan with $928.05 million or 8.3%, Indonesia with $790.47 million or 7.1%, and the United States with $653.25 million.

Total trade for the month January stood at $18.235 billion, reflecting a 0.9% increase from $18.069 billion in January 2025, and higher than the $18.045 billion in December 2025. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News