May export earnings up 1.9% to US$6.44B

By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan

THE country’s export earn - ings posted a positive growth for the first time in six months in May 2023, with electronic products accounting for 57.5 percent or the largest share in the country’s exports pie, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Figures from the PSA showed the country’s export earnings increased by 1.9 percent to US$6.44 billion from the $6.32 billion recorded in the same month last year.

“The commodity group with the highest annual growth in the value of exports in May 2023 was electronic products, which rose by US$231.53 million,” PSA said. This was followed by ignition wiring set and other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircraft and ships, which increased by US$75.98 million; and copper concentrates, rising by US$73.75 million.

Total export earnings in the first five months of the year amounted to US$28.21 billion. This represented a decline of 11.5 percent from the year-todate annual total export value of US$31.89 billion in the same period last year.

Imports

MEANWHILE , the country’s total import bill contracted by 8.8 percent year-on-year to $10.84 billion in May.

In April, it recorded an annual decline of 15 percent, while in May 2022, it exhibited a double-digit annual increase of 30.2 percent.

With this, the country recorded a trade deficit of $4.40 billion, which is narrower by 20.9 percent compared to the $5.56 billion in May 2022 and the previous month’s $4.8 billion.

PSA data showed that in April 2023, the trade deficit recorded an annual decline of 9 percent and in May 2022, it posted an annual increase of 74.9 percent.

The 20.9 percent decline in the trade deficit recorded in May 2023 is the narrowest since November

2022, which posted a 21-percent decline.

“The balance of trade in goods [BoT-G] is the difference between the value of export and import,” the PSA said.

For his part, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Chief Economist Michael Ricafort said, “Trade deficit/Net imports already among the narrowest in more than a year, thereby partly supporting the stronger peso exchange rate recently [peso among the strongest in 2 months]; also after relatively lower global oil and other commodity prices amid risk of recession in the US.”

See “Export,” A2