Philippines Balance of Trade

Last Release

Mar 31, 2025

Actual

-4,127,500.38

Units In

USD Thousand

-3,155,413

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

May 30, 2025

Time to Release

28 Days 18 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
1,144,700 Sep 1999	-6,002,680 Aug 2022	-677,132.59 USD Thousand	1957-2025	National Statistics Office of Philippines

Philippines has been running annual trade deficits due to high imports of raw materials and intermediate goods. In 2013, the biggest trade deficits were recorded with: Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and South Korea while the biggest trade surpluses with: Japan, Hong Kong and the United States.

Latest Updates

The Philippines’ trade deficit widened to USD 4.1 billion in March 2025 from 3.4 billion in the same month last year, as imports increased more than exports. Imports climbed 11.9% year-on-year to USD 10.7 billion, fueled by higher purchases of industrial machinery and equipment (32.9%), iron and steel (30.1%), and other food and live animals (28.4%). China remained the top import source, accounting for 28.9% of total imports, followed by Indonesia (8.3%), Japan (7.8%), South Korea (6.8%), and Thailand (5.0%). Meanwhile, exports rose at a softer 5.9% to USD 6.6 billion, driven by increased sales of coconut oil (85.5%), other manufactured goods (45.4%), and other mineral products (24.6%). The US was the largest export destination (16.8%), followed by Hong Kong (15.3%), Japan (14.6%), China (11.6%), and Singapore (4.2%). Considering the January to March period, the trade deficit expanded to USD 12.7 billion, compared to USD 11.3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.