Philippines’ total external trade up by 4.5 pct in July

MANILA, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — The Philippines’ total external trade in goods increased by 4.5 percent in July 2024 to 17.37 billion U.S. dollars from 16.62 billion dollars in July 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
Of the total external trade in July this year, the agency said 64 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 July amounted to -4.87 billion dollars, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increase of 18 percent.
China was the Philippines’ largest supplier of imported goods, valued at 3.08 billion dollars or 27.7 percent of the country’s total imports in July, said the PSA.
The United States contributed the highest export value in July, with 1.06 billion dollars, or 16.9 percent of the total exports. ■