The Philippines incurred a trade deficit of $4.77 billion in November 2024 as merchandise exports tumbled 8.7 percent, deeper than the 4.9-percent decrease in imports.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the trade deficit in the first 11 months of 2024 reached $49.96 billion, wider than the $48.41-billion gap registered in the same period in 2023.
Export sales in November amounted to $5.69 billion, down 8.7 percent from $6.23 billion a year ago. This brought total exports from January to November to $67.55 billion, down 0.4 percent from $67.83 billion in the same period in 2023.
By commodity group, electronic products remained the country’s top exports in November with total earnings of $2.79 billion or 48.9 percent of the total.
By major type of goods, exports of manufactured goods contributed the largest to the total exports in November 2024, amounting to $4.43 billion. This was followed by mineral products with $563.17 million and agro-based products which contributed $539.32 million.
Exports to the United States comprised the highest export value amounting to $969.09 million. It was followed by Japan with $916.12 million and China $786.35 million.
Meanwhile, imports amounted to $10.46 billion in November, lower by 4.9 percent than 11 billion registered a year earlier.
Merchandise imports in the 11-month period amounted to $117.51 billion, up by 1.1 percent from $116.25 billion in the same period in 2023.