Exports tumbled 18.6 percent in August from a year ago, deeper than the 9.1-percent contraction in July, after the government placed Metro Manila and surrounding provinces under the stricter moderate enhanced community quarantine.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed merchandise exports dropped to $5.12 billion in August from $6.3 million in the same month last year. The figure was also lower than $5.68 billion in July.
Imports dropped 22.6 percent in August to $7.2 billion from $9.3 billion a year ago. Imports were also lower than $7.5 billion recorded in July.
The PSA said the trade deficit declined 30.9 percent to $2.075 billion in August from $3 billion in the same month last year, as both exports and imports fell by double digits because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to global trade.
This brought the trade shortfall in the first eight months to $14.609 billion, down by 46 percent from the $27.070-billion last year.
“The export earnings in August 2020 marked the sixth month in a row in which value of export had negative growth,” the PSA said. ‘
Total exports from January to August declined by 16.6 percent to $39.29 billion from $47.13 billion a year earlier.
By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country’s top export with total earnings of $2.93 billion, accounting for 57.1 percent of exports in August.
Imports in the first eight months went down by 27 percent to $53.89 billion from $74.20 billion in the same period last year
“Value of imports contracted for the 16th straight month in August 2020. In the previous month, the decline was higher at -23.8 percent, while in August 2019, imports decreased by -5.2 percent annually,” the PSA said.
Most of the imported goods were electronic products with a value of $2.27 billion or 31.5 percent of the total imports in August.
The government decided to declare Metro Manila under MECQ after the daily infection rate spiked up. After a month, the metropolis returned to the more lenient general community quarantine.
