Philippines posts widest trade deficit in nearly four years

The Philippines' trade gap continued to widen, hitting the highest deficit in over three years in April as imports grew nearly four times faster than exports, preliminary 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 $5.965-billion deficit in the past month, wider than the $5.025-billion deficit in March, and the $3.982-billion deficit in April 2025.

It is also the highest deficit in nearly four years since the -$5.99 billion recorded in August 2022.

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

Imports for the month stood at $13.173 billion or 22.4% more than the $10.766 billion a year ago, and higher than the $13.216 billion in March.

In terms of commodity groups, electronic products had the biggest import value with $4.22 billion, equivalent to a 32.0% share to total imports.

The biggest increase was seen in mineral fuels, lubricants, and related material which grew by $1.31 billion to $2.55 billion or 19.4% of the total, as the country was impacted by the conflict between United States-Israeli forces and Iran in the Middle East.

China remained the biggest source of imports with $3.92 billion or 29.7%, followed by South Korea with $1.55 billion (11.8%); Japan with $959.69 million (7.3%); Malaysia with $790.13 million (6.0%); and Indonesia with $773.48 million (5.9%).

Exports for the month were recorded at $7.207 billion, up 6.3% from $6.783 billion a year ago, but lower than the $8.191 billion in March.

The biggest increase was seen in machinery and transport which grew by $187.63 billion, followed by coconut oil ($173.03 million), and other mineral products ($163.57 million).

Electronic products were the biggest export with $3.44 billion or 47.7%, followed by other mineral products with $485.95 million (6.4%), and machinery and transport equipment with $423.36 million (5.9%).

The United States was the biggest recipient of exports for the month with $1.30 billion or 18.0%, followed by China with $926.66 million (12.9%); Japan with $914.64 million (12.690%); Hong Kong with $914.59 million (12.689%); and Singapore $332.75 million (4.6%).

Total trade for the month stood at $20.380 billion, up 16.1% from $17.549 billion, but lower than the $21.407 billion in March. This is the lowest since February 2026, when total trade was recorded at $18.79 billion. — VDV, GMA News