The President conveniently forgot to mention the state of foreign trade of the Philippines. Our balance of trade has not fared well since 2001 and in fact our trade deficit in 2008 was 7,669.00 up from 5,048.00 in 2007. (See chart, all F.O.B. value in million US Dollars) The latest data from the National Statistics Office shows that for May 2009 our trade deficit stands at 238 million USD. The President failed to mention in her SONA that the Philippines has had a trade deficit from 2001 to 2008. And for someone who prides herself in being an economist, surely she knows that this is not a good sign for the economy.
A sizeable portion of the direction of our trade has been to our neighbors in Asia with East Asia having the majority of that share. (See table below)
According to the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB), our total exports went down to negative 18.2 percent from negative 7.7 percent last year and this they attribute to the further decline of merchandise exports. “The country’s total merchandise exports plunged deeper to negative 24.6 percent in the current quarter of 2009 from negative 10.9 percent in 2008. The lackluster performance of Merchandise Export was attributed to the slump in both Principal Merchandise Exports and Other Exports to negative 30.5 percent from negative 13.7 percent and negative 20.1 percent from 7.1 percent, respectively.”
The NCSB details that the decline of merchandise exports can be attributed to the decline of the following items: Semiconductors and Electric Microcircuits, Finished Electrical Machinery, Crude Coconut Oil, Garments, Ignition Wiring Sets.
PHILIPPINES FOREIGN TRADE
|
Indicator |
Latest |
Year-Ago |
Previous |
|
Exports (1)
|
USD 3,087 million May 2009 |
USD 4,225 million May 2008 |
USD 2,803 million Apr 2009 |
|
Imports (1)
|
USD 3,041 million Apr 2009 |
USD 4,856 million Apr 2008 |
USD 3,270 million Mar 2009 |
|
Trade Balance |
USD (238) million Apr 2009 |
USD (541) million Apr 2008 |
USD (472) million Mar 2009 |
(1) Freight on Board Value
Source: National Statistics Office
|
Year |
Total Trade |
Exports |
Imports |
Balance of Trade Favorable (Unfavorable) |
|
2008 |
105,824.00 |
49,078.00 |
56,746.00 |
(7,669.00) |
|
2007 |
105,980.00 |
50,466.00 |
55,514.00 |
(5,048.00) |
|
2006 |
99,183.79 |
47,410.12 |
51,773.68 |
(4,363.57) |
|
2005 |
88,672.86 |
41,254.68 |
47,418.18 |
(6,163.50) |
|
2004 |
83,719.73 |
39,680.52 |
44,039.21 |
(4,358.69) |
|
2003 |
76,701.72 |
36,231.21 |
40,470.51 |
(4,239.30) |
|
2002/r |
74,444.67 |
35,208.16 |
39,236.51 |
(4,028.35) |
|
2001/r |
65,207.36 |
32,150.20 |
33,057.16 |
(906.96) |
|
2000 |
72,569.12 |
38,078.25 |
34,490.87 |
3,587.38 |
|
1999 |
65,779.35 |
35,036.89 |
30,741.46 |
4,294.43 |
|
1998 |
59,156.64 |
29,496.75 |
29,659.89 |
(163.14) |
|
1997 |
61,161.52 |
25,227.70 |
35,933.82 |
(10,706.12) |
|
1996 |
52,969.48 |
20,542.55 |
32,426.93 |
(11,884.38) |
|
1995 |
43,984.81 |
17,447.19 |
26,537.63 |
(9,090.44) |
|
1994 |
34,815.46 |
13,482.90 |
21,332.57 |
(7,849.67) |
|
1993 |
28,972.21 |
11,374.81 |
17,597.40 |
(6,222.59) |
|
1992 |
24,343.24 |
9,824.31 |
14,518.93 |
(4,694.62) |
|
1991 |
20,890.88 |
8,839.51 |
12,051.36 |
(3,211.85) |
|
1990 |
20,392.19 |
8,186.03 |
12,206.16 |
(4,020.13) |
Notes:
1. Details may not add up to totals due to rounding.
2. Exports include domestic exports and re-exports.
r - revised
Source: National Statistics Office
TOP TEN MERCHANDISE EXPORTS
1st Quarter
2008 and 1st Quarter 2009 (FOB Value in million pesos)
At Constant 1985
Prices
|
ITEMS |
1st Qtr 2008 |
1st Qtr 2009 |
Growth Rate (%) |
|
1. Garments |
9,822 |
8,250 |
-16.0 |
|
2. Semiconductors and electronic microcircuits |
21,853 |
11,940 |
-45.4 |
|
3. Finished elect'l machy |
10,853 |
6,770 |
-37.6 |
|
4. Other prods. manufactured |
768 |
546 |
-29.0 |
|
5. Ignition wiring sets |
509 |
192 |
-62.3 |
|
6. Crude coconut oil |
3,505 |
1,722 |
-50.9 |
|
7. Cathodes & Section of Cathodes, of Refined Copper* |
2,828 |
3,521 |
24.5 |
|
8. Shrimps and prawns |
185 |
244 |
32.0 |
|
9. Gold from copper ores |
1,479 |
1,555 |
5.2 |
|
10. Banana and plantains |
1,355 |
1,446 |
6.7 |
At Current Prices
|
ITEMS |
1st Qtr 2008 |
1st Qtr 2009 |
Growth Rate (%) |
|
1. Garments |
21,119 |
19,804 |
-6.2 |
|
2. Semiconductors and electronic microcircuits |
168,138 |
100,411 |
-40.3 |
|
3. Finished elect'l machy |
31,064 |
23,037 |
-25.8 |
|
4. Other prods. manufactured |
7,584 |
6,904 |
-9.0 |
|
5. Ignition wiring sets |
10,087 |
4,653 |
-53.9 |
|
6. Crude coconut oil |
8,199 |
2,365 |
-71.2 |
|
7. Cathodes & Section of Cathodes, of Refined Copper* |
11,045 |
7,046 |
-36.2 |
|
8. Shrimps and prawns |
447 |
500 |
11.8 |
|
9. Gold from copper ores |
4,773 |
5,738 |
20.2 |
|
10. Banana and plantains |
3,826 |
4,832 |
26.3 |
*Formerly Bars, Rods of Copper
