Philippine merchandise exports rose 5.9 percent in March 2025 to $6.59 billion from $6.23 billion a year earlier, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday.
Imports grew at a faster pace of 11.9 percent in March to $10.72 billion from $9.58 billion a year ago. This resulted in a trade deficit of $4.13 billion for the month, a 23.1 percent increase from March 2024.
Total external trade in goods amounted to $17.31 billion, marking a 9.6 percent annual increase from $15.80 billion in the same period last year. Of the total external trade in March 2025, 61.9 percent were imported goods, while the remaining 38.1 percent were exports.
Export sales in March 2025 reached $6.59 billion, a 5.9 percent rise from the $6.23 billion in total export sales in the same month of the previous year. In February 2025, total export sales recorded a 4.8 percent annual increase, while March 2024 saw a 5.9 percent annual decrease.
This brought total exports in the first quarter to $19.27 billion, up by 5.7 percent from $18.23 billion in the same period in 2024.
By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country’s top exports in March 2025, earning $3.64 billion or 55.2 percent of the country’s total exports during the period. Other manufactured goods followed with an export value of $434.41 million (6.6 percent), and other mineral products with $246.56 million (3.7 percent).
The United States contributed the highest to the total export value, amounting to $1.11 billion or 16.8 percent of the country’s total exports in March 2025.
Meanwhile, imported goods in March 2025 amounted to $10.72 billion, an 11.9-percent increase from $9.58 billion in the same month last year.
First-quarter imports amounted to $31.98 billion, up 8.4 percent from $29.50 billion in the same period in 2024.
Imports from China reached $3.10 billion, or 28.9 percent of the country’s total imports in March 2025.
