SHIPMENTS of electronic products boosted the country’s export earnings to its highest growth in over a year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA data showed the country’s exports grew 20 percent in October 2022, the highest since May 2021 when exports rose 30.8 percent.
The country’s export earnings reached $7.695 billion in October 2022, higher than the $6.41 billion posted in October 2021.The growth in exports led to a 13.5-percent decline in the country’s trade deficit to $3.31 billion in October 2022.
The contraction in the trade deficit was the steepest decline since January 2021 when the Balance of Trade in Goods (BOT-G) declined 23.4 percent.
Imports, meanwhile, posted a 7.5-percent growth. This is the slowest growth of imports since January 2021, when purchases from the country’s trade partners contracted 11.8 percent.
The annual growth in the value of imported goods in October 2022 was mainly due to the increases in the values of five of the top 10 major commodity groups, with metalliferous ores and metal scrap having the fastest annual growth rate of 462.7 percent.
This was followed by transport equipment, which rose by 46.3 percent annually; and other food and live animals by 40.3 percent.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes/BM