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Philippine trade deficit widens to $3.58 in August as import surge overtakes export growth

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - The Philippines posted a trade deficit of nearly $3.58 billion in August as a surge in imports overtook a surge in exports, the state statistics bureau said on Tuesday. </p><p>The country’s total external trade in goods in August, amounted to $16.51 billion, up 25.3 percent from the same month last year when trade contracted 15.6 percent amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Philippine Statistics Authority" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/business/10/12/20211012-psa-1.jpg?ext=.jpg"/></figure></div><p>Imports however reached $10.04 billion, growing 30.8 percent, while exports reached $6.47 billion, up 17.6 percent. </p><p>This was in contrast to the -12.7 percent and -17.5 percent growth rates in exports and imports respectively, posted in August 2020. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/09/21/philippine-trade-deficit-widens-to-329-billion-in-july">Philippine trade deficit widens to $3.29 billion in July; China is top export, import market</a></li></ul><p>China was again the Philippines’ top trading partner for the month. But the Philippines again posted a huge trade deficit with the Asian giant. </p><p>Exports to China topped shipments to other countries, reaching $1.05 billion, representing 16.2 percent of exports. </p><p>The United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, rounded up the top 5 destinations for Philippine exports. </p><p>Imports from China meanwhile reached $2.36 billion, representing 23.5 percent of the Philippines’ total import bill. </p><p>This means that the Philippines has a $1.31 billion trade deficit with China in August.</p><p>Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the US rounded up the top 5 of the country’s suppliers of imports. </p><p>Electronic products were the Philippines’ top exports as well as imports. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/01/04/21/philippines-cuts-export-targets-due-to-covid-19-impact">Philippines cuts export targets due to COVID-19 impact</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1797637" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

China was again the Philippines’ top trading partner for the month, with the Philippines again posting a huge trade deficit with the Asian giant. 