PHILIPPINE exports climbed to an all-time high in August this year, helping shrink the trade deficit for the first time since January as electronics shipments posted strong gains.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed exports had surged 27.8 percent to $9.11 billion in August from $7.13 billion in the same month last year, the highest level recorded since the series began in 1991.
The growth rate was also the fastest since April 2024.
In turn, the robust export performance helped narrow the trade deficit by 3.5 percent to $3.85 billion.
This comes as export growth outpaced the rise in imports for the first time since March. Imports rose 16.6 percent to $12.96 billion due to higher commodity prices and the front-loading of supplies ahead of the Super El Niño, although this was the slowest growth in six months or since the Middle East war had begun.
Electronics, particularly semiconductor products, accounted for the highest value in both exports and imports.
For exports, electronics shipments rose to $6.2 billion, accounting for 68.1 percent of total overseas sales. On the import side, electronics accounted for $4.51 billion, or 34.8 percent of total imports.
But economists at Chinabank Research warned that while the narrower trade deficit was encouraging, it should not yet be taken as a sign of an improvement in the Philippines’ export competitiveness.
“The August improvement in the trade balance is encouraging but remains largely driven by a highly concentrated electronics boom rather than a broad-based improvement in external competitiveness,” Chinabank said in a commentary.
“However, the improvement may prove difficult to sustain as electronics-related imports are also rising rapidly, while elevated oil prices continue to inflate the import bill,” it added.
The bank noted that electronic inputs were still outpacing exports, with the former ballooning 130.3 percent to $2.2 billion, compared with exported components, which grew 37.4 percent to P118 million. (Nyah Genelle C. De Leon © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
