THE Philippines’ trade gap widened in August, albeit at a slower pace, as imports continued to outpace exports during the period, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The balance of trade in goods, the difference between the value of exports and imports, posted a deficit of $2.075 billion.
This is wider than the $1.859-billion deficit recorded in July, but narrower than the $3.004-billion shortfall posted in August 2019.
A deficit indicates that the value of a country’s imports exceeded export receipts, while a surplus indicates more export shipments than imports.
Broken down, exports stood at $5.128 billion, 18.6 percent lower than $6.302 billion year-on-year.
Imports, meanwhile, totaled $7.204 billion, down 22.6 percent from $9.307 billion a year earlier.
The country’s total external trade in goods in August, which amounted to $12.33 billion, declined at an annual rate of 21 percent.
This is higher than July’s month’s annual drop of 18.1 percent, and -2.6 percent decline in August 2019.
In a statement on Saturday, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said gradual and calibrated re-opening of the economy, as well as regulatory reforms and technological innovations, are needed for the country’s trade and overall economic recovery.
The NEDA attributed the merchandise trade performance’s sharp contraction in August “to the stricter quarantine measures implemented during the reporting period.”
“The August trade performance is a clear indication that gains from reopening the economy can easily be reversed when we impose strict lockdowns that restrict economic activity. We need to keep this in mind if we wish to regain our growth trajectory,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.(GMA News)
