PH trade deficit hits record high of $3.78 B as imports rise in November

The country registered a record trade deficit in November last year after imports grew at a much slower pace than exports, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed yesterday.

According to the PSA, the Philippines incurred a $3.78-billion trade deficit during the month as imports jumped 18.percent year-on-year while exports rose by only 1.6 percent.

The country’s total exports valued $4.96 billion in November, while imports amounted to $8.74 billion during the month.

The November gap brought the country’s trade deficit to a record $25.7 billion.

Iron, steel, mineral fuels and telecommunication equipment were the top gainers in imports in November.

The slower annual rise in exports was due to a decline in the shipments of machinery and transport equipment and other manufactured goods, which offset the gains in electronic products, cathodes and gold.

China was the Philippines' largest source of imports in November 2017, accounting for 19.4 percent of the total. Import payments to China for the month was at $1.69 billion, up 14 percent from the same period in 2016.

Japan was the second largest import source, followed by South Korea, Thailand and the US, data showed.

Hong Kong was the Philippines largest export market in November 2017, accounting for 15.4 percent of total exports and with an estimated value of $765.95 million.

Japan was the second largest export market, followed by the US and China, the PSA said.

Meanwhile, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said that continuous improvement of export competitiveness and identification of emerging markets for exports will help sustain merchandise trade growth.

“Exports to ASEAN and EU look promising. Gathering of market intelligence, such as market profiles and emerging in-demand exports, as well as information dissemination to exporters should be further strengthened to boost trade, especially exports to East Asia,” Pernia said.

In this regard, the Department of Trade and Industry’s Export Assistant Network, which provides exporters access to relevant information, and Tradeline Philippines, an online database service that contains product and market profiles, are seen to play important roles.

Pernia said the country’s economy is seen to continue its upward trajectory in 2018, especially with the “Build, Build, Build” program providing additional impetus to positive growth prospects.

“The timely implementation of the government’s infrastructure program will be critical in bringing down the cost of doing business and, thus, should make our exporters more competitive,” Pernia said.