THE country’s trade deficit narrowed in July 2025 as export growth continued to outpace imports, latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed Friday, Aug. 29, 2025.
The balance of trade in goods registered a deficit of US$4.05 billion, down 17 percent from the same month last year. This marked a reversal from the previous months, when the trade gap posted increases of 1.4 percent in June 2025 and 18.3 percent in July 2024.
Total external trade rose 7.7 percent year-on-year to $18.72 billion, with imports accounting for 60.8 percent and exports making up 39.2 percent.
Exports surged 17.3 percent to $7.34 billion, driven largely by higher shipments of electronic products, which grew by $671.7 million and remained the country’s top export at $3.92 billion or 53.5 percent of total outbound sales. Other mineral products ($522.4 million) and gold ($133.3 million) also boosted export earnings.
The United States remained the Philippines’ top export destination, with shipments valued at $1.16 billion or 15.8 percent of total exports. Hong Kong, Japan, China and the Netherlands completed the top five markets.
Meanwhile, imports posted only a modest increase of 2.3 percent to $11.38 billion. The uptick was led by electronic products, animal and vegetable oils, and telecommunication equipment. Electronic products remained the largest import category at $2.80 billion, followed by mineral fuels ($1.32 billion) and transport equipment ($1 billion).
China continued to be the Philippines’ biggest supplier with $3.40 billion worth of goods, followed by South Korea, Indonesia, Japan and the United States.
From January to July 2025, exports climbed 13.9 percent to $48.62 billion, while imports rose 6.1 percent to $77.09 billion. The trade gap for the seven months stood at $28.47 billion. / KOC