The country’s trade deficit in September 2023 fell to an 11-month low of $3.51 billion from a $4.13-billion shortfall in August, as imports posted a bigger contraction compared to exports, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Tuesday.
The balance of trade in goods is the difference between the value of exports and imports.
Imports dropped 14.7 percent in September to $10.24 billion from $12.01 billion a year ago. It was also lower than $10.83 billion in August.
The commodity group with the highest annual decrease in the value of imported goods was electronic products at $756.15 million. This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, which declined by $564.30 million; and organic and inorganic chemicals with an annual drop of $124.93 million.
This brought total imports in the first nine months to $94.36 billion, or 10.2 percent lower than $105.06 billion in the same period last year.
Exports also fell 6.3 percent in September to $6.73 billion from $7.18 billion a year ago. In August, exports grew 4.2 percent.
Total export earnings from January to September reached $54.54 billion, also down 6.6 percent from $58.37 billion in the same period last year.