THE country’s trade deficit widened further in July as imports continued to grow nearly twice as fast as exports, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA on Friday reported that the country’s trade deficit reached $5.97 billion in July, 34.9 percent higher than the $4.43 billion recorded a year earlier.
The latest reading was also the largest deficit since May 2026, when the trade gap reached $6.10 billion.
The wider trade gap came as import payments increased 19.8 percent year-on-year to $14.12 billion from $11.79 billion, while export receipts grew 10.8 percent to $8.15 billion from $7.36 billion.
Overall, the country’s total external trade in goods reached $22.27 billion in July, up 16.3 percent from $19.14 billion a year earlier.
Imports accounted for 63.4 percent of total trade, while exports made up the remaining 36.6 percent.
The latest figures also brought the January-to-July import bill to $92.26 billion, 18.9 percent higher than the $77.58 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Exports during the seven-month period reached $54.92 billion, up 12.9 percent from $48.67 billion.
This left a January-to-July trade deficit of $37.34 billion so far.
Both the year-to-date export and import values were the highest recorded for the period since the PSA’s trade series began in 1991, the agency said.
Electronics
According to PSA, the faster growth in imports was led by electronic products, which posted the largest annual increase in import value among commodity groups.
Imports of electronic products rose by $1.75 billion to $4.60 billion in July from $2.85 billion a year earlier. Electronic products accounted for 32.6 percent of total imports during the month.
This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials at $1.95 billion, or 13.8 percent, and transport equipment at $976.95 million, or 6.9 percent.
By major type of goods, raw materials and intermediate goods accounted for the largest share of imports at $5.71 billion, or 40.4 percent of the total. Capital goods followed at $3.84 billion, while consumer goods reached $2.58 billion.
On the export side, electronic products remained the country’s biggest export commodity, generating $4.79 billion or 58.8 percent of total exports.
The United States remained the Philippines’s biggest export market in July, absorbing $1.68 billion worth of Philippine goods, or 20.7 percent of total exports.
Meanwhile, China was the country’s largest import source, supplying $4.17 billion worth of goods, equivalent to 29.5 percent of total imports.