THE country’s trade-in-goods deficit in April widened to its highest in five months as exports and imports bounced back from a month of contraction.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the trade-in-goods balance — the difference between exports and imports — amounted to a $4.76 billion deficit in April, widening from the $3.44-billion shortfall recorded in the previous month, but still lower than the $4.83 deficit in April last year.
This was the widest trade gap in five months since the $4.77 billion deficit in November last year.
Total sales of Philippine-made goods increased by 26.4 percent year on year to $6.22 billion in April, a turnaround from the revised 7.3 percent drop in March and the 20.3 percent decline seen in the same period last year.
By value, export receipt in March was the highest level in five months or since the $6.23 billion in November last year.
Likewise, the country’s merchandise imports bounced back by 12.6 percent year on year to $10.98 billion in April. This was a turnaround from the 17.7 percent decline in the previous month and the 15 percent fall in April 2023.
Import bill in March, meanwhile, was the highest level in five months or since the $11 billion in November 2023.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee projects 3% and 4% growth in exports and imports, respectively, for this year. (Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
