Philippine exports in February this year registered its biggest drop since August 2020, declining by 18.1 percent to $5.08 billion from $6.2 billion in the same month in 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday.
This decline in export revenues dragged the country’s total external trade in February to $14.03 billion, down by 14.4 percent from $16.24 billion in the same period last year.
Aside from export revenues, the country’s imports in February also fell by 12.1 percent year-on-year to $8.95 billion from $10.99 billion.
Export revenues has been down for three consecutive months since December 2022.
The PSA attributed lower export revenues to the decline in shipments of the country’s top export product –electronic products– which declined to $2.68 billion from $3.44 billion over a year.
Other products that contributed to the decline in exports in February include coconut oil; other mineral products; cathodes and sections of cathodes of refined copper; and travel goods and handbags.
Top destinations for Philippine goods in February this year were Japan, the United States, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Meanwhile, lower imports of electronic goods also slashed the country’s total import value in February this year.
Electronic goods imports fell to $2.13 billion from $2.49 billion year-on-year.
Sectors with lower imports in February this year also include transport equipment, cereals and cereal preparations, iron and steel, and chemical materials and products.
Top import sources for the country for February were China, Indonesia, Japan, US and South Korea.
CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE
