PH trade gap swells to near 4-year high
The country’s trade deficit ballooned in April to its widest level in nearly four years as imports grew more than twice as fast as exports amid elevated global oil prices triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the trade deficit widened 49.8 percent to $5.97 billion in April. This was the largest gap since August 2022’s $5.99 billion, when the deficit expanded by 81.1 percent year-on-year.
The surge came as imports jumped 22.4 percent to $13.17 billion. While this was the lowest import value recorded since February, the annual growth rate was the fastest since the 26.4-percent expansion logged also in August 2022.
John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, said elevated energy costs due to the war’s disruption in supply chains drove up the country’s import bill.
“As a net oil-importing country, the Philippines becomes more vulnerable when energy prices rise sharply, which increases the import bill even if volumes do not significantly change,” he said.
“The near four-year high is concerning but not yet alarming because the Philippines still has important buffers such as remittances, services exports and adequate reserves,” he added.
Exports, meanwhile, grew only 6.3 percent to $7.21 billion. The pace was the weakest since the 5.5-percent growth recorded in August 2025, when American global tariffs were first implemented.
Rivera said soft global demand continued to limit the country’s ability to offset rising imports.
“Businesses in key markets are becoming more cautious, which is weighing on demand for Philippine exports. The fact that export growth slowed sharply suggests that external demand remains fragile,” he said.
Electronic products remained the country’s top traded commodity in April, accounting for $4.22 billion in imports and $3.44 billion in exports.
China was the top source of imports at $3.5 billion, while the United States was the largest export market at $1.4 billion.
