Philippines' total external trade declines by 9.8 pct in October

MANILA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' total external trade in goods declined by 9.8 percent in October 2023 to 16.9 billion U.S. dollars from 18.74 billion dollars in October 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.

Of the total external trade in October, the agency said 62.3 percent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods.

The PSA said the balance of trade in goods or the difference between export and import value in October amounted to -4.17 billion dollars, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increase of 26 percent.

China was the Philippines' largest supplier of imported goods, valued at 2.6 billion dollars, or 24.7 percent of the country's total imports in October.

The United States contributed the highest export value in October, with 1.02 billion dollars or 16 percent of the total exports. China came third with 880.37 million dollars or 13.8 percent of the total.