A. Total agricultural trade

Total agricultural trade inches up 

The total value of agricultural trade of the Philippines amounted to USD21.22 billion or 11.6 percent of the total trade in 2019. It rose by 5.0 percent compared with the USD20.22 billion total agricultural trade in 2018. Of the total agricultural trade, USD6.68 billion (31.5%) were agricultural exports and USD14.54 billion (68.5%) were agricultural imports. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

B. Agricultural Export

1. Agricultural export increases by 9.1 percent

The country’s agricultural export revenue went up to USD6.68 billion or by 9.1 percent in 2019, from USD6.12 billion agricultural export in the previous year. Furthermore, it reflected a share of 9.4 percent to the total export in 2019.
(Figure 1 and Table 1)

2. Agricultural export of edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit melons commodity group contributes the largest share to total agricultural export

The total value of agricultural exports of the top 10 commodity groups reached USD6.39 billion or 95.7 percent of the total agricultural export revenue in 2019. Combined export value of these top 10 commodity groups posted an annual growth of 10.8 percent, from USD5.77 billion in 2018.

Among the commodity groups, edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit or melons, valued at USD2.63 billion, accounted for the largest share of 39.4 percent to the total agricultural exports. (Figure 2 and Table 2)

3. Malaysia leads in exports among ASEAN member countries

The country’s agricultural exports to the ASEAN member countries in 2019 amounted to USD757.73 million, which accounted for 7.0 percent of the total exports to ASEAN member countries. Among the ASEAN member countries, Malaysia was the top destination of agricultural exports worth USD251.16 million or a share of 33.1 percent to the total agricultural exports for ASEAN. (Figure 3 and Table 6)

4. Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes group leads export of agricultural commodities to ASEAN member countries

The top three major agricultural commodities exported to the ASEAN member countries in 2019 were:

• tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, USD277.36 million;
• animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes, USD117.00 million; and
• preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks’ products, USD78.29 million. (Table 6)

5. Netherlands is the country’s major trading partner in export of agricultural goods among EU member countries

Exports of agricultural goods to EU member countries in 2019 amounted to USD1,102.45 million or a share of 13.3 percent to the country’s total agricultural exports to EU member countries.

Among the EU member countries, Netherlands was the country’s top buyer of agricultural commodities worth USD486.13 million or 44.1 percent of the total agricultural exports to EU member countries. (Figure 4 and Table 8)

6. Animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes commodity group is the top export agricultural commodity to EU member countries

The top three major agricultural commodities exported to EU member countries in 2019 were:

• animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes, USD431.56 million;
• preparations of meat, of fish, or of crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, USD252.71 million; and
• preparation of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants, USD122.25 million.  (Table 8)

C. Agricultural Import

1.  Agricultural import posts 3.1 percent increase

The total agricultural imports amounted to USD14.54 billion or 13.0 percent of the country’s total imports. It posted a 3.1 percent increment from the USD14.10 billion expenditure incurred in 2018. (Table 1)

2. Cereals commodity group leads in terms of value of agricultural imports

Among the major commodity groups, cereals with a value of USD3,174.28 million or a share of 21.8 percent to the total agricultural imports was the highest in terms of value of imports in 2019. (Figure 5 and Table 4)

3. Vietnam accounts for the highest import value among ASEAN member countries

The country’s agricultural imports from ASEAN member countries in 2019 reached USD4,855.35 million which accounted for 15.9 percent of the total agricultural imports from ASEAN member. Among the ASEAN member countries, Vietnam, which contributed 27.7 percent to the total agricultural imports from ASEAN member countries, was the major supplier of agricultural products in 2019. (Figure 6 and Table 7)

4. Miscellaneous edible preparations commodity group leads import of agricultural commodities from ASEAN member countries

The top three imported agricultural goods from ASEAN member countries were:

• miscellaneous edible preparations, USD1,210.97 million;
• cereals, USD1,135.22 million; and
• animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes, USD790.72 million. (Table 7)

5. Netherlands leads EU member countries on agricultural imports

The country’s agricultural imports from EU member countries amounted to USD1,708.48 million or a share of 17.3 percent to the total agricultural imports from EU member countries in 2019. Among EU member countries, Netherlands was the country’s top supplier of agricultural commodities worth USD315.68 million or 18.5 percent of total agricultural imports to EU member countries. (Figure 7 and Table 9)

6. Meat and edible meat offal commodity group ranks first in terms of import from EU member countries

The top three agricultural commodities imported from EU member countries were:

• meat and edible meat offal, USD523.97 million;
• dairy produce; birds’ eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included, USD285.38 million; and
• residues and waste from the food industries; prepared animal fodder, USD189.75 million. (Table 9)

ROSALINDA P. BAUTISTA
Assistant Secretary
Deputy National Statistician
Sectoral Statistics Office

Explanatory Notes

This Special Release features the final figures of imports and exports of agricultural commodities statistics of the Philippines in 2019.  The total agricultural exports and imports stated in this report are generated from the monthly merchandise export and import of the country from January to December 2019.

The commodities are classified in accordance with the ten-digit 2015 Philippine Standard Commodity Classification (PSCC). The agricultural commodity groups are from chapters 1 to 24 of the 2015 PSCC.  Chapter 01 to 24 relates to commodity classifications for live animals, meat and edible meat offal, fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, dairy produce; birds’ eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin, not elsewhere classified, products of animal origin, not elsewhere specified or included, vegetables products, edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruit melons, coffee, tea, mate and spices, cereals, malt, starches, inulin, wheat gluten, oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit, industrial or medicinal plants, straw and fodder, lac, gums, resins, gum-resins and oleoresins, vegetable plaiting materials, animal or vegetable fats and oils, waxes, prepared foodstuffs, beverages, spirits, vinegar and tobacco (manufactured and unmanufactured).

The valuation used for foreign trade of agricultural commodities adopts the WTO agreement on customs valuation and this applies to both imports and exports. Exports of agricultural commodities utilized the free on board (FOB) value, also known as the cost of goods. It is the value of the goods free on board the carrier at the frontier of the exporting country. It includes inland freight, export duty and other expenses. Ocean freight, insurance and consular fees, however, are excluded. On the other hand, Imports of agricultural commodities use the cost of insurance and freight (CIF) values which include the transaction value of the goods, the value of services performed to deliver goods to the border of the exporting country and the value of services performed to deliver the goods from the border of the exporting country to the border of the importing country.1/ 

Data requests on imports and exports of agricultural commodities can be made at PSA, Economic Sector Statistics Service, Trade Statistics Division (telephone number: (02) 8376-1975 or at email address tsd.staff@psa.gov.ph).

1/Source: IMTS Concepts and Definitions 2010, page 40 chapter 4). The value of transaction is expressed in US dollar.

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