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The Philippine trade deficit narrowed last November as exports contracted at a faster rate than imports during the month, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday showed. Preliminary data from the PSA showed that the balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) posted a $4.767-billion trade deficit in November 2024, narrower than the $5.
781-billion deficit in October, and the $4.769-billion deficit in November 2023. 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 were recorded at $5.690 billion, reflecting an 8.7% drop from the $6.
231 billion in November 2023, and lower than the $6.190 billion in October 2024. The biggest drop was seen in electronic products with $729.
38 million, even as the commodity group continued to be the top export for the month with $2.79 billion or 48.9% of the total exports during the period.
Declines were also seen in the export of cathodes and sections of cathodes down by $98.50 million, and ignition wiring sets and other wiring sets which fell by $13.44 million.
The United States was the biggest recipient of Philippine exports, accounting for $969.09 million or 17.0% of the total share.
It was followed by Japan with $916.12 million, China with $786.35 million, Hong Kong with $600.
24 million, and Singapore with $288.11 million. Imports, meanwhile, stood at $10.
458 billion. This is 4.9% lower than the $11.
000 billion in November 2023, and the $11.972 billion in October 2024. The biggest annual decline in imports was recorded in mineral fuels and lubricants which fell by $421.
88 million, followed by transport equipment by $352.70 million, and miscellaneous manufactured articles with $68.87 million.
Electronic products were also the biggest import for the month, with $2.46 billion or 23.5% of the total share.
Mineral fuels and lubricants accounted for $1.31 billion, and transport equipment with $819.93 million.
China was the largest source of imports with $2.82 billion or 27.0% of the total share, followed by Indonesia with $877.
77 million, Japan with $827.75 million, South Korea with $774.55 million, and the United States with $621.
30 million. The latest figures brought the total trade for the month to $16.148 billion, down from $18.
163 billion the previous month and $17.231 billion the same month in 2023. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News.
