Philippines exports more to China

Mainland overtakes Japan in May ranking

The Chinese mainland dislodged Japan as the Philippines’ third export market destination in May, with the amount hitting $761.40 million or 13.2 percent of the country’s total recorded export receipt, government data showed on Tuesday.

Simply put, this means the Chinese mainland now ranks third among the Philippines’ top 10 export markets, according to Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) data.

“[Philippine exports to the Chinese mainland in May] went up by 8.9 percent from $699.12 million in the same month of 2017,” the PSA said.

The Philippines’ total exports receipt as recorded by the country’s top 10 market destinations for May 2018 amounted to $4.68 billion or an 81.2 percent share of the total exports, according to the PSA data.

The PSA said the Chinese mainland is also the Philippines’ biggest source of imports with a 20.3 percent share in May 2018. Import payments from China to this country stood at $1.92 billion, posting an increase of 18.8 percent from $1.62 billion in May 2017, according to the PSA.

Import bills of the Philippines’ top ten import countries in May 2018 amounted to $7.37 billion or 77.8 percent of the country’s total imports, the PSA said.

The Chinese mainland emerged as the top trading partner of the Philippines in 2017, with total bilateral trade standing at $23.82 billion, according to data released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) of the Philippines this month.

Based on published data, the DTI said that from 2015 to 2017, Philippine merchandise exports to the Chinese mainland reflected a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.95 percent.

By comparison, the PSA said Japan’s CAGR rate ranked fourth, with export shipments standing at $756.31 million or a share of 13.1 percent.

China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region placed second, with an exports value of $796.47 million, or 13.8 percent of the total exports for May 2017.

The Philippines’ top 10 sources of imports are the Chinese mainland, South Korea, Japan, the US, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, the island of Taiwan, Malaysia and Hong Kong.