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Louella Desiderio - The Philippine Star
March 29, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The country posted its smallest trade deficit in almost four years in February as exports picked up while imports declined.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) yesterday showed that the country’s balance of trade – the difference between exports and imports – amounted to a $3.16-billion deficit in February, 11 percent lower than the $3.56 billion shortfall in the same month last year.
This is the lowest trade deficit since the April 2021 trade shortfall of $3.09 billion.
The February trade deficit is also lower than the previous month’s $5.12 billion trade gap.
PSA data showed that the country’s exports of goods rose by four percent to $6.25 billion in February from $6.02 billion in the same month in 2024.
Posting the highest increases in exports value in February were coconut oil, which went up by $132.53 million, other manufactured goods, which rose by $106.09 million and electronic products, which were up by $87.05 million.
Electronic products, which remained the country’s biggest exports, amounted to $3.52 billion in February, 2.6 percent higher than the $3.43 billion in the same month last year.
“The electronics sector, which historically accounts for more than half of total exports, likely benefited from stronger global semiconductor demand, particularly in AI (artificial intelligence), automotive and cloud computing industries,” Philippine Institute for Development Studies senior research fellow John Paolo Rivera said in an email.
He said improved demand from key trading partners like the United States, European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations may have contributed to the overall increase.
The US continued to be the top market for Philippine exports, with a 15.8-percent share or $986.84 million in February.
While exports increased, the country’s merchandise imports slid by 1.8 percent to $9.41 billion in February from $9.58 billion in the same month a year ago.
The commodity groups with the biggest declines were mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, which dropped by $399.17 million, metalliferous ores and metal scrap with a $186.23 million decrease and power generating and specialized machinery, which declined by $68.10 million.
Electronic products registered the highest import value during the period at $2.11 billion, 9.9 percent higher than the $1.92 billion in the same month in 2024.
Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. chief economist Nicholas Mapa said imports slipped due to “lower energy and slow capital and raw materials shipments.”
China remained the Philippines’ largest source of imports, accounting for $2.46 billion or 26.1 percent of total imports.
Total external trade in goods went up by 0.4 percent to $15.66 billion in February from the previous year’s $15.59 billion.
For the January to February period, the country’s trade deficit amounted to $8.28 billion, up by 4.7 percent from $7.91 billion in the same period last year.
The country’s merchandise exports climbed by 5.2 percent to $12.62 billion as of end-February from $12 billion in the same period in 2024.
Goods imported by the Philippines also grew by 4.9 percent to $20.90 billion during the period from $19.92 billion in the same period last year.
Looking ahead, Rivera said Philippine exports could continue increasing, if there would be sustained demand from the US and the EU.
However, China’s economic slowdown remains a potential drag.
“Continued improvements in logistics and shipping costs post-pandemic should support steady trade flows. Efforts to diversify export markets (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, new bilateral trade deals) could create new opportunities for Philippine products,” he said.
