The Philippines incurred a trade deficit of $52.42 billion in 2023, as both exports and imports declined last year amid elevated inflation that affected global demand.
The deficit, while smaller than the $57.65 billion recorded in 2022, still reflects ongoing challenges for the Philippine economy.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that merchandise exports dipped 7.6 percent to $73.52 billion in 2023, compared with $79.57 billion a year earlier. Imports of goods, meanwhile, dropped 8.2 percent to $125.95 billion from $137.22 billion.
The trade gap in December narrowed to $4 billion, as exports inched down 0.5 percent year-on-year to $5.78 billion and imports slid 5.1 percent to $9.79 billion.
Manufactured goods remained the top export category in December, contributing $4.74 billion or 82.0 percent of the total. Mineral products came in second at $492.58 million, followed by agro-based products at $398.42 million.
Hong Kong emerged as the Philippines’ top export market in December, buying $951.14 million worth of goods. The United States ranked second at $904.78 million, followed by Japan at $703.98 million, China at $703.89 million and South Korea at $325.53 million.
Data showed that on the import side, electronic products topped the list with a value of $2 billion. Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials came in second at $1.27 billion, while industrial machinery and equipment ranked third at $425.37 million.