Exports fell 2.2 percent in October to $6.20 billion from $6.34 billion a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday.
The figure brought total exports in the first 10 months to $52.11 billion, down 12.5 percent from a year earlier.
Meanwhile, imports contracted 19.5 percent in October to $7.98 billion from $9.91 billion in the same month last year. Imports in the 10-month period were also down by 26.2 percent to $70.04 billion from $93.61 billion a year ago.
The National Economic and Development Authority said the safe opening of the economy and connectivity and logistics reforms would be prioritized by the government to bring down cost and improve competitiveness of the trade sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acting Economic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said that despite the declines in exports and imports, there were some positive takeaways from the trade data. He said merchandise exports to the country’s leading regional trading partners such as China and ASEAN both grew in double digits.
