THE country’s lackluster external trade performance in December 2022 left exports and imports posting slower full-year growth compared to last year, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The data also showed the country’s trade deficit reached $53.318 billion in 2022, a 38.1-percent growth from the $42.2 billion in 2021.
In December 2022, the deficit reached $4.6 billion, a 10.2-percent decline from the $5.1 billion in December 2021. The balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) is the difference between the value of export and import, PSA said.
PSA data showed exports contracted 9.7 percent while imports declined 9.9 percent. As a result, export earnings only grew 5.6 percent while the growth in import receipts slowed to 17.3 percent.
In 2021, PSA data showed exports posted a full-year growth of 14.5 percent while imports grew 30.1 percent.
The year-to-date annual total export earnings from January to December 2022 amounted to $78.84 billion. The year-to-date annual total import value amounted to $137.16 billion.
As a result, the country’s total external trade in goods amounted to $215.99 billion in 2022, a 12.8-percent growth from the $191.536 billion in 2021.
For December 2022, the country’s total external trade in goods amounted to $15.93 billion, a contraction of 9.9 percent from its level in the same period of the previous year.
Electronics
Meanwhile, PSA data showed electronic products continued to be the country’s primary export and import in December and the full year of 2022.
Exports of electronic products reached $45.58 billion in the January to December period while in December, export earnings reached $3.17 billion.
Imports of these products amounted to $32.79 billion from January to December and reached $2.42 billion in the last month of 2022.
Meanwhile, the top gainers in terms of exports for the full year of 2022 were Iron and Steel, with an average growth of 97.1 percent; Seaweeds and Carrageenan, 56.6 percent; Other Products Manufactured from Materials Imported on Consignment Basis, 49.9 percent; Coconut Oil, 46.7; and Mangoes, 37 percent.
The other exports that posted the highest growth in 2022 were Copper Concentrates which grew 34.8 percent; Telecommunication, 31.4 percent; Baby Carriage, Toys, Games, and Sporting Goods, 23.2 percent; Petroleum Products, 21.5 percent; and Control and Instrumentation, 16.5 percent.
Products that saw the steepest decline in exports in 2022 were Other Coconut Product which contracted 30.9 percent; Abaca Fibers, 28.8 percent; Basketworks, 27.6 percent; Other Agro-based, 25.2 percent; and Office Equipment, 20.3 percent.
The list also included Woodcrafts and Furniture which contracted 17.9 percent; Electronic Data Processing, 17.4 percent; Plywood, 16.9 percent; Christmas Decor, 16.2 percent; and Metal Components, 14.1 percent.