The country’s trade deficit narrowed in March 2024, despite a contraction in overall international trade, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.
Data showed the Philippines’ total external trade in goods amounted to $15.44 billion, down 15.4 percent from $18.25 billion in the same period last year.
The country’s balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) resulted in a deficit of $3.18 billion in March, an annual decrease of 36.6 percent.
Export sales in March fell 7.3 percent to $6.13 billion from $6.61 billion in the same month last year. Total exports in the first quarter rose 4.8 percent to $17.98 billion.
Electronic products continued to be the country’s top exports in March with total earnings of $3.59 billion, followed by other manufactured goods with an export value of $294.13 million and machinery and transport equipment with $204.40 million.
Imports in March also dropped 20 percent to $9.31 billion from $11.63 billion a year earlier. Total imports in the first quarter also went down by 7.6 percent to $29.22 billion from $31.61 billion a year ago.