Philippine exports, which comprise one-third of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), experienced a downturn in October, while imports saw considerable growth, as revealed by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday. The export figures for October totaled $6.16 billion, reflecting a decline of 5.5% year-on-year and a 1.5% drop from September.
This decline was primarily attributed to a decrease in shipments of electronic products. In contrast, imports for the same month surged to $12.00 billion, marking an increase of 11.2% compared to the previous year and a rise of 5.3% from September. As a result, the trade deficit for the Philippines in October ballooned to $5.80 billion, representing an alarming 36.8% increase year-on-year.
Within the broader category of manufactured products, which constitutes the largest segment of exports, the country shipped out goods valued at $5.31 billion in October—this is a notable decline of 21.1% from the same month last year. Specifically, electronic products accounted for $2.87 billion of exports in October, a significant drop from $3.73 billion a year earlier, according to official statistics.
Geographically speaking, the top export markets for the Philippines in October included the United States, Japan, and mainland China. In terms of imports, the predominant categories were electronics and petroleum-related products. Mainland China, Indonesia, and South Korea emerged as the primary import partners for the Philippines during this period..