The country’s trade-in-goods deficit reached its highest level in five months in April, with exports and imports bouncing back from a month of contraction. According to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the trade-in-goods balance, which is the difference between exports and imports, widened to a $4.76 billion deficit in April. This was an increase from the $3.44 billion shortfall recorded in the previous month, but still lower than the $4.83 billion deficit in April of the previous year.
This marks the widest trade gap in five months since the $4.77 billion deficit in November of the previous year. Total sales of Philippine-made goods saw a 26.4 percent year-on-year increase to $6.22 billion in April, a significant improvement from the 7.3 percent drop in March and the 20.3 percent decline in the same period last year.
On the other hand, the country’s merchandise imports rose by 12.6 percent year on year to $10.98 billion in April, rebounding from a 17.7 percent decline in the previous month and a 15 percent fall in April of the previous year. The import bill in March was also the highest level in five months since reaching $11 billion in November 2023.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee has projected a 3% growth in exports and a 4% growth in imports for this year.
