Philippine imports fall over 11% in February

Philippine imports fell by over 11% in February due to decreased shipments from China at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exports increased by 2.8%, but this growth was outpaced by the decline in imports, resulting in a total trade volume decrease of 5.9%. The trade deficit narrowed to $1.7 billion from $2.7 billion last year.

The decline in imports is attributed mainly to decreases in cereals and cereal preparations (down 28.2%), industrial machinery and equipment (down 24.7%), and transport equipment (down 17.6%).

Merchandise exports saw growth across six of the top ten export commodities, including other manufactured goods, bananas, mineral products, machinery and transport equipment, gold, and electronic products.