PH trade deficit narrows

the last quarter due to higher demand in the holiday season,” NEDA Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said.

Export gains during September were attributed to shipments to the European Union, which rose by 40 percent, and a 7.6 percent gain for goods sold in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean) region.

Higher sales were also recorded for top export markets such as the United States ( 4.9 percent), Hong Kong ( 29 percent) Germany (4.6 percent), the Netherlands (70.8 percent) and Thailand (7.1 percent).

For imports, growth in shipments from South Korea (52.9 percent), Indonesia ( 8.1 percent), Taiwan (6.5 percent) and Vietnam ( 40. percent) offset declines for goods from China (-7.3 percent), Japan (-8.1 percent) and the US (-18.3 percent).

“We look forward to regional cooperation and integration being forwarded in APEC (Asia 2017 Vietnam and also in the upcoming 31st Asean meetings. We expect these initiatives to promote inter- and intra- regional trade and deepen engagement between regional blocs, as spelled out in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022,” Edillon said.