THE Philippine exports have led the way to the continued expansion of global trade, spurred on by the gradual opening of major economies abroad as it contributed US$5.89 billion to total trade, or a 29.8 percent growth for May 2021, over the previous year’s $4.54 billion.
This effectively shrunk the balance of trade by $329.9 million from April 2021 figures, even as imports expanded 47.7 percent as demand for industrial inputs rose due to growing economic activity in the country.
The country’s total sales export in May 2021 came after an increase of 74.1 percent in the previous month.
“We are very optimistic that we can sustain this upward export performance trajectory as our major trading partners continue opening up their borders and easing travel restrictions, given the success rate in their vaccination drive. The same thing here in the country as we rolled out the vaccination program and allowed 100 percent operating capacity even during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ months of March and April of this year,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.