The country’s balance of trade with the rest of the world widened in January to $5.74 billion as exports during the month declined year-on-year and imports continued to increase, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Tuesday.
The trade deficit in December stood at $4.50 billion while that in January 2022 stood at $4.51 billion.
The PSA said the country’s total exports in January amounted to $5.23 billion, a decline of 13.5 percent after a 7.7 percent decrease in December. Exports in January last year was up 8.9 percent.
Of the top 10 major commodity groups, six export commodity groups recorded annual decreases in January, including coconut oil, cathodes and sections of cathode of refined copper, metal components, electronic products, chemicals, and other manufactured goods.
Electronic products continued to be the country’s top export in January, with total sales of $2.83 billion, or 54.2 percent of total exports.
Japan remains the largest market for Philippine goods, with total exports worth $866.25 million, or 16.6 percent of total. Rounding out the top five export markets of the Philippines are the U.S., China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Total imports in January amounted to $10.97 billion, up 3.9 percent on year. The value of imports in December declined 9.6 percent but was up 25.3 percent in January last year.
Seven of the top 10 imports showed increases in January. Among these are metalliferous ores and metal scrap, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, and telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery.
Electronic products was the top import in January, with an import value of $2.44 billion, or a 22.2 percent share of total imports. This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, and transport equipment.
The main source of imported products is China, with a 21 percent share. The four other major sources of imports are Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and the U.S.
