Manila: The country’s total external trade in goods experienced a 3.0 percent increase, reaching USD17.60 billion in September 2024, compared to USD17.09 billion during the same period last year, as revealed by data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

According to Philippines News Agency, the PSA report highlighted that of the total external trade for the month, 64.4 percent consisted of imported goods, while the remaining 35.6 percent were exported goods. Export sales amounted to USD6.26 billion, marking a 7.6 percent decrease from the USD6.77 billion recorded in September of the previous year. However, for the first nine months of 2024, export sales saw a marginal increase of 1 percent, totaling USD55.67 billion, up from USD55.08 billion in the same period of 2023.

The PSA noted that electronic products encountered the highest annual decline in export value in September, followed by copper concentrates and cathodes, and sections of cathodes, of refined copper. Despite this decline, electronic
products remained the country’s top exports, with total earnings of USD3.15 billion, accounting for 50.3 percent of the total exports. Other significant exports included manufactured goods with a value of USD506.69 million (8.1 percent) and mineral products worth USD330.23 million (5.3 percent).

Exports to the United States represented the highest export value at USD1.08 billion. Other major export trading partners included Hong Kong, Japan, the People’s Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea. On the import side, the value rose by 9.9 percent to USD11.34 billion from USD10.32 billion last year. The year-to-date total import value showed a slight increase, reaching USD95.07 billion compared to USD94.49 billion from January to September 2023.

Electronic products also dominated the import sector, with a value of USD2.40 billion, comprising 21.2 percent of the total imports. This was followed by imports of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials, as well as transport equipment. China remained the
largest supplier of imported goods to the Philippines, valued at USD2.84 billion or 25 percent of the total imports for September 2024. Other key import sources included Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Thailand.

The PSA reported that the balance of trade in goods, or the difference between the value of exports and imports, amounted to a USD5.09 billion deficit, up 43.4 percent from the USD3.54 billion trade gap in September 2023.