DOF wants China-PH ‘significant’ trade disparity checked

The Department of Finance (DOF) ordered the Bureau of Customs to meet with its counterpart in Beijing to discuss the significant gap between China’s registered export volumes to the Philippines.

In a statement, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said that while the gap of China’s export volumes and actual import figures officially reported to the Philippines is narrowing, the gap remains “significant.”

For this reason, Dominguez ordered Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña to meet "right away" with his counterpart in China to check the discrepancy between the data of the two nations.

State trade data showed that the estimated discrepancy between registered Chinese exports to the Philippines and registered Philippine imports from China stood at 48.7 percent last year.

The latest figure, however, is lower compared with its 60 percent level in 2010.

“I've asked Sid Lapeña to invite his Chinese counterpart to sit down and review the data,” Dominguez said.

During a recent Executive Committee (Execom) meeting of the DOF, Dominguez reiterated his directive for Lapeña to meet and closely coordinate with the China’s customs chief in an effort to reconcile the discrepancy in trade figures between the Philippines and China.

The finance chief relayed his order through Customs Deputy Commissioner Edward Dy-Buco, who had attended the Execom meeting on Lapeña’s behalf.

"Just remind the commissioner that he should invite the Chinese bureau of customs chief here. You have to reconcile your figures on the import-export data. Anyway, the difference is not anymore 60 percent. It's only 48 percent now, but that's still large," Dominguez said.

In 2010, registered Chinese exports to the Philippines was at $11.56 billion, but Philippine imports from China as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) was only at $4.628 billion, resulting in a trade discrepancy of 60 percent or $6.936 billion.

For the first seven months of 2017, Chinese exports to the Philippines was $17.77 billion, while the PSA reported imports from China at $9.24 billion, or a discrepancy of 48 percent or $8.53 billion.