Trade deficit widens to record in November 2017

January 10, 2018

The Philippines' trade deficit widened to a record in November 2017 from year-ago figures as imports grew 18.5 percent to $8.744 billion while exports grew by 1.6 percent to $4.963 billion, the Philippine Statistics Agency (PSA) said Wednesday.

The trade deficit of $3.781 billion surpassed October 2017 $2.84 billion trade gap. According to the Trade Statistics Division of the PSA the November figure is the lowest ever.  On a year-ago basis, it was $2.49 billion.

From January to November, the trade deficit is at $25.71 billion, up from year-ago data of $24.23 billion.

Export growth was the slowest since November 2016 as agro-based products and manufacturing record declines, offsetting gains in mineral, forest and petroleum products.

However,  total trade grew by 11.8 percent in November 2017, pushing year-to-date growth to 9.9 percent.

Continuous improvement of export competitiveness and identification of emerging markets for exports will help sustain merchandise trade growth, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

“Exports to ASEAN and EU look promising. Gathering of market intelligence, such as market profiles and emerging in-demand exports, as well as information dissemination to exporters should be further strengthened to boost trade, especially exports to East Asia,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said.

The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Export Assistant Network, which provides exporters access to relevant information, and Tradeline Philippines, an online database service that contains product and market profiles, are seen to play important roles.

Pernia adds the country’s economy is seen to continue its upward trajectory in 2018, especially with the “Build, Build, Build” program providing additional impetus to positive growth prospects.

“The timely implementation of the government’s infrastructure program will be critical in bringing down the cost of doing business and, thus, should make our exporters more competitive,” Pernia said.

Pernia said while the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act, or TRAIN, is expected to finance the government’s infrastructure program, inflationary pressures, as well as the possible rise of domestic interest rates, should be closely watched as this could dampen business and consumer sentiment. DMS