The country’s agricultural imports continued to outpace exports in September but the trade gap was narrower, based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA figures showed the country’s agricultural trade deficit shrank by 15.7 percent to $932.15 million in September, from $1.11 billion a year ago.
While agri goods purchased abroad continued to outstrip shipments of farm products in the reference month, PSA data indicated that exports grew by 19.1 percent to $794.46 million from last year’s $667.05 million.
Imports continued to dominate the country’s farm trade, despite slipping by 2.6 percent to $1.73 billion in September from $1.77 billion in the previous year.
Overall, the country’s total agricultural trade inched up by 3.3 percent to $2.52 billion, a slowdown from the 5-percent increase recorded in August and the 26.1-percent surge posted in September 2024.
Animal, vegetable, or microbial fats and oils were the country’s top agricultural export, earning $297.51 million or 37.4 percent of total farm export receipts.
This was followed by edible fruit and nuts; preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts, or other parts of plants; and preparations of meat, of fish, of crustaceans, molluscs, or other aquatic invertebrates or of insects.
The top 10 export groups altogether contributed 97.8 percent of total farm export earnings, collectively growing by 20 percent.
Within the Asean region, Malaysia emerged as the Philippines’ leading buyer of farm goods, purchasing $26.34 million worth of exports, or more than a third of total agricultural shipments to Southeast Asian neighbors.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands remained the country’s biggest agricultural trading partner in the European Union (EU), accounting for $142.82 million or 61.1 percent of exports to the bloc.
Cereals led the country’s farm imports in September with a value of $361.26 million, representing 20.9 percent of total agricultural imports. The top 10 import groups reached a combined $1.46 billion, down 1.9 percent from the same month of last year.
Among its Asean partners, Indonesia was the country’s leading source of agricultural imports, supplying $190.86 million worth of goods or 28.3 percent of the Philippines’ total agricultural imports from the region.
Spain was the Philippines’s main supplier of agricultural goods in the EU, accounting for $44.51 million or 28.1 percent of total imports from EU member states.