By: Manila Bulletin
The country’s trade deficit narrowed in June this year as coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on demand for exports and imports, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.
The Philippines’ trade gap, or the difference between the value of export and import, shrunk by half to $1.3 billion in June from $2.63 billion in the same month last year, the PSA data revealed yesterday.
The slimmer deficit was due to lower sales from imports and exports, which both plunged by 24 percent and 13 percent, respectively.
Total imported goods in June down to $6.63 billion from $8.78 billion in the same month in 2019, while total export sales declined to 5.33 billion from $6.15 billion in a previous year.
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua, however, noted that while import and export receipts remained lower compared with June 2019 data, the deceleration paces were slower compared with the previous month.
To recall, values of imports and exports in May this year fell by 41 percent and 27 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the country’s total merchandise trade further eased its negative trajectory in June with a slower decline of 19.9 percent following a steep 35.3 percent contraction in May.
“This slower decline in the country’s trade performance signals the resumption of economic activities,” Chua said.
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