The Philippines’ merchandise trade amounted to US$15.84 billion in August 2018, an increase of 7.8% from $14.69 billion in the same month in 2017 as both imports and exports registered growth.
Exports grew 3.1% to $6.16 billion in August 2018 from $5.98 billion in August 2017, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. This is the second month in a row that exports registered an increase after five straight months of decline.
Likewise, imports went up 11% to $9.68 billion in August 2018 from $8.72 billion in the same month of the previous year, continuing the positive performance since the start of the year.
The country’s balance of trade in goods expanded to a $3.51 billion deficit in August 2018, from the $2.74 billion deficit in August 2017.
The improvement in exports in August was brought about by the increases posted by six out of the top 10 commodities exported for the month: cathodes and sections of cathodes, of refined copper; bananas (fresh); other mineral products; electronic products; other manufactured goods; and electronic equipment and parts.
The increase in imports, meanwhile, was due to the positive growth of nine out of the top 10 major import commodities for August. These were cereals and cereal preparations; iron and steel; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; transport equipment; plastics in primary and non-primary forms; electronic products; miscellaneous manufactured articles; industrial machinery and equipment; and telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery.
A big chunk of imports and exports for August 2018 came from China. Other top import sources were South Korea and Japan, while other top export destinations included North America and Hong Kong.
