Philippines Balance of Trade

Philippines recorded a trade deficit of 593087 USD Thousand in March of 2013. Balance of Trade in Philippines is reported by the The National Statistics Office (NSO). Historically, from 1957 until 2013, Philippines Balance of Trade averaged -233829.05 USD Thousand reaching an all time high of 1144700 USD Thousand in September of 1999 and a record low of -1658000 USD Thousand in November of 2011. Philippines posts regular trade deficits due to high imports of raw materials and intermediate goods. Main imports are: fuel (25 percent), electronic products (25 percent), transport equipment (7 percent) and industrial machinery (5 percent). Philippines is a leading exporter of coconut, pineapple, abaca and electronic products like processors, chips and hard drives (more than 40 percent of total exports). Main trading partners are: Japan (28 percent of total exports and 11 percent of imports), United States (15 percent of exports and 11 percent of imports) and China (12 percent of exports and 11 percent of imports). This page includes a chart with historical data for Philippines Balance of Trade.

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Philippines Balance of Trade

Trade | STATISTICSLastPreviousHighestLowestForecastUnitTrend
External Debt 60337.00 Dec/2012 61711.00 61711.00 20893.00 60251.62 Dec/2013 USD Million Trend
Balance of Trade -593087.00 Mar/2013 -966706.00 1144700.00 -1658000.00 -637001.18 Apr/2013 USD Thousand Trend
Current Account 920.00 Dec/2012 498.00 1596.00 -884.00 337.71 Jan/2013 USD Million Trend
Exports 4041250.00 Apr/2013 4328976.00 5340847.00 23000.00 4189519.08 Dec/2013 USD Thousand Trend
Imports 4922063.00 Mar/2013 4707488.00 5882358.00 37084.00 4708912.08 Apr/2013 USD Thousand Trend
Current Account to GDP 2.80 Dec/2012 3.10 5.80 -7.70 2.77 Dec/2013 Percent Trend


CALENDAR Country Event Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
26/Feb/2013 01:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade DEC 2012
26/Mar/2013 01:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Jan 2013 USD -714M USD -1330M
25/Apr/2013 02:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Feb 2013 USD -967M USD -716M (R)
24/May/2013 02:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Mar 2013 USD -593.1M USD - 966.7M
25/Jun/2013 02:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Apr 2013 USD -593.1M USD -577.1M
25/Jul/2013 02:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade May 2013
27/Aug/2013 02:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Jun 2013
25/Sep/2013 02:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Jul 2013
25/Oct/2013 01:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Aug 2013
26/Nov/2013 01:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Sep 2013
27/Dec/2013 01:00 AM
Philippines Balance of Trade Oct 2013

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Philippines' March Imports Down; Exports Flat
National Statistics Office | Joana Taborda | joana.taborda@tradingeconomics.com  |  5/24/2013 10:34:33 AM


In March of 2013, total external trade in goods reached $9.251 billion, representing a 4.6 percent decline from $9.694 billion recorded in the same month of 2012. This was due to the 8.4 percent downward trend of total imports, while exports showed a slight 0.1 percent increase over a year earlier. The trade deficit narrowed in March of 2013 to $ -593.1 million, from $ -1048 million a year earlier.

Export earnings in March of 2013 amounted to $4.329 billion, a 0.1 percent increment from $4.322 billion recorded in March of 2012. Similarly, on a monthly basis, it increased by 15.7 percent. The positive increase was supported higher shipments of other mineral products, other manufactures, metal components, woodcrafts and furniture, coconut oil and ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships. 

Electronic Products emerged as the country’s top export with total receipts of $1.757 billion, down by 22.4 percent on a year-on-year basis. However, month-on-month, Electronic Products, was up by 18.4 percent.

Japan, comprising 18.5 percent share to total exports for March of 2013, emerged as the country’s top destination of exports. Revenues were higher by 17.0 percent from a year ago. United States, accounting for 14.4 percent share to total exports followed as the second top market, with exports posting a decrease of 7.0 percent from a year earlier.

Total merchandise imports went down by 8.4 percent year-on-year. However, it increased by 4.6 percent compared to the previous month’s level. The down fall was supported by lower imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, organic and inorganic chemicals, plastics in primary and non-primary forms, industrial machinery and equipment, and electronic products. 

Accounting for 25.3 percent of the aggregate import bill, payments for Electronic Products went down by 0.6 percent over last year's figure. On a monthly basis, it fell by 0.1 percent. Among the major groups of electronic products, Components/Devices (Semiconductors), having the biggest share of 19.4 percent, increased by 3.4 percent year-on-year.

People’s Republic of China was the country’s biggest source of imports for March of 2013 with 11.5 percent share of the total import bill, higher by 0.4 percent over the same month in 2012. 

Aggregate merchandise exports for the first three months of 2013 declined by 6.2 percent year-on-year and aggregate imports showed a 7.4 percent decline compared with the same quarter last year. 


ARCHIVE
Philippines Trade Deficit Widens in February In February of 2013, the Balance of Trade for the Philippines registered a deficit of $916 million from $566 billion deficit in the same period last year. This was due to the 5.8 percent downward trend of total imports from $4.996 billion to $4.708 billion in February 2013. Similarly, exports showed a 15.6 percent decrement from $4.430 billion to $3.741 billion in February 2013. Total external trade in goods for February 2013 reached $8.449 billion, representing a 10.4 percent decrease from $9.427 billion recorded during the same month in 2012. 2013-04-25
Philippines Trade Deficit Widens in October The balance of trade for the Philippines in October 2012 registered a deficit of $832 million, as exports stood at $4.41 billion and imports at $5.24 billion. Total external trade in goods for October 2012 reached $9.648 billion, representing a 5.1 percent increase from $9.180 billion recorded during the same month in 2011. 2013-01-10
Philippines Trade Deficit Narrows in January In January of 2013, the Balance of Trade for the Philippines registered a deficit of $714 million from $1.010 billion deficit in the same period last year. This was due to the 8.0 percent downward trend of total imports from $5.134 billion to $4.725 billion in January 2013. Similarly, exports showed a 2.7 percent decrement from $4.123 billion in January 2012 to $4.011 billion. Total external trade in goods for January 2013 reached $8.735 billion, representing a 5.6 percent decrease from $9.257 billion recorded during the same month in 2012. 2013-03-26
Philippines Balance of Trade Deficit Widens in September The balance of trade for the Philippines in September 2012 registered a deficit of $483 million, as exports stood at $4.78 billion while imports surged to $5.27 billion. 2012-12-21
Philippines Trade Deficit Widens in December In December of 2012, the Balance of Trade for the Philippines registered a deficit of $1.275 billion, as exports reached $3.971 billion and imports expanded to $5.246 billion. Total external trade in goods for December of 2012 reached $9.216 billion, representing a 14.6 percent increase from $8.040 billion recorded during the same month in 2011. 2013-02-26



Balance of Trade | Notes

The balance of trade is the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports in an economy over a certain period of time. A positive balance of trade is known as a trade surplus and occurs when value of exports is higher than that of imports; a negative balance of trade is known as a trade deficit or a trade gap.




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