Table A. Summary of External Trade Performance
September 2020, August 2020, and September 2019

A. TOTAL EXTERNAL TRADE, AND BALANCE OF TRADE

1.Total external trade continued to contract

The country’s total external trade in goods in September 2020, which amounted to USD 14.14 billion, declined at an annual rate of -9.2 percent. This was lower than its previous month’s annual drop of -17.9 percent, and higher than the -3.5 percent drop in September 2019. (Table A)

Of the total external trade in September 2020, 56.0 percent were imported goods, and the rest were exported goods.

2. Trade deficit posted annual decline

Balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) is the difference between the value of export and import. BoT-G in September 2020 amounted to USD -1.71 billion, representing a trade deficit with an annual decline of -49.9 percent. In the previous month, the trade deficit fell at a slower rate of -39.1 percent, and at a slower rate in September 2019 at -15.3 percent. (Figure 1)

B. EXPORTS

1. Sales from export in September posted positive growth after experiencing negative growth since March 2020

The country’s total export sales in September 2020, amounting to USD 6.22 billion, increased by 2.2 percent, from a -12.8 percent drop a month ago. In September 2019, the export performance gained at a rate of 0.4 percent. (Tables A, and 2)

The export earnings in September 2020 marked a positive growth vis-à-vis the figure from March 2020 to August 2020 in which the value of export had negative growth. (Figure 2)

Of the top 10 major commodity groups in terms of the value of exports, seven recorded an annual increase, in which the highest increases were led by cathodes and sections of cathodes, of refined copper (133.9%); other mineral products (73.3%); and metal components (32.9%). (Tables B, and 3)

2.Year-to-date total export dropped

The cumulative export earnings from January to September 2020 amounted to USD 45.87 billion, lower by -13.8 percent than the export value earned from January to September 2019. (Table 4)

3. Electronic products commodity group remained the highest on export sales

By commodity group, exports of electronic products continued to be the country’s top export with total earnings of USD 3.63 billion. This amount accounted for 58.3 percent of the total exports in September 2020. This was followed by other manufactured goods with an export value of USD 340.26 million (5.5%), and other mineral products which amounted to USD 298.46 million (4.8%). (Figure 3, and Table 3)

4. Manufactured goods commodity group still comprised the biggest chunk of total exports

By major types of goods, exports of manufactured goods shared the highest to total exports in September 2020 amounting to USD 5.19 billion (83.4%). This was followed by mineral products with a share of USD 518.61 million (8.3%), and total agro-based products which shared USD 367.67 million (5.9%). (Figure 4, and Table 5)

5. People’s Republic of China contributed the highest export value

By major trading partners, exports to the People’s Republic of China comprised the highest export value amounting to USD 1.22 billion or a share of 19.6 percent to the total exports during the month.

Completing the top five major export trading partners with their export values and percent shares to the total exports were:

a. Japan, USD 974.78 million (15.7%);
b. United States of America (USA), USD 903.46 million (14.5%);
c. Hong Kong, USD 809.14 million (13.0%); and
d. Singapore, USD 347.68 million (5.6%). (Figure 5, and Table 7)

6. Majority of exports were for APEC countries

By economic bloc, USD 5.36 billion (86.2%) of the country’s merchandise exports in September 2020 went to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries. This was followed by East Asia, valued at USD 3.39 billion (54.5%), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which amounted to USD 931.88 million (15.0%). (Figure 6, and Table 8)

7. Eastern Asia contributed the highest export value by geographic region

By geographic region, Eastern Asia comprised the highest export value amounting to USD 3.39 billion in September 2020. This was followed by Northern America with an export value of USD 944.91 million, and South-eastern Asia, USD 931.94 million. (Figure 7)

C. IMPORTS

1. Import value continued to drop

Total imported goods in September 2020, which amounted to USD 7.92 billion, remained at downtrend with an annual rate of -16.5 percent. (Figure 1, and Table A)

The value of imports contracted for the 17th straight month in September 2020. In the previous month, the decline was higher at -21.3 percent, while in September 2019, imports decreased by -5.8 percent annually. (Figure 8)

The annual decrement of imported goods in September 2020 was due to the decrease in eight out of the top 10 major import commodities. The annual rate of decline was fastest in transport equipment (-53.0%); mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (-51.4%); and industrial machinery and equipment (-23.3%). (Tables C, and 9)

2. Year-to-date total import value also dropped

The cumulative import value from January to September 2020 amounted to USD 61.95 billion, representing a decline of -26.0 percent compared with the import value of USD 83.69 billion posted in the same period of 2019. (Table 10)

3. Electronic products accounted for the highest import value among commodity groups

Most of the imported goods were electronic products with an import value of USD 2.43 billion or a share of 30.6 percent to the total imports in September 2020. This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, valued at USD 558.79 million (7.1%) and transport equipment which amounted to USD 484.34 million (6.1%). (Figure 9, and Table 9)

4. Imports of raw materials and intermediate goods contributed the highest

By major types of goods, imports of raw materials and intermediate goods accounted for the largest share of USD 3.21 billion (40.5%) to total import in September 2020. Imports of capital goods, which shared USD 2.58 billion (32.6%), ranked second followed by consumer goods with a share of USD 1.49 billion (18.8%). (Figure 10, and Table 11)

5. Total import value of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies contracted in September 2020

The total import value for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and medical supplies in September 2020 contracted to USD 21.75 million, indicating an annual decrement of -15.7 percent in the same month of the previous year. Annual growth of import value for these medical items in the previous month was higher at 44.0 percent. In September 2019, the annual increase of the import value for the items was higher at 19.4 percent. (Table D)

The annual decrements noted in the following PPEs and medical supplies pushed down the total import value for these items during the period:

a. protective clothing (-89.5%);
b. surgical gloves (-38.5%); and
c. testing kits (-17.5%);

Month-on-month, import value for PPEs and medical supplies decrease by -28.6 percent in September 2020, and -18.8 percent in the previous month. (Table D)

Contributing to the monthly decrease in the import value of PPEs, and medical supplies were surgical facemask (-56.6%), other facemask (-51.3%), protective clothing (-48.9%), face shield (-37.8%), and testing kits (-13.9%). However, it was observed that import values for the following commodities increased month-on-month in September 2020:

a. safety headgear (24.2%); and
b. surgical gloves (19.1%).

6. People’s Republic of China had the highest import value

The People’s Republic of China was the country’s biggest supplier of imported goods valued at USD 2.01 billion or 25.3 percent of the total imports in September 2020.

Completing the top five major import trading partners with their corresponding import payments and percent shares to the total imports were:

a. Japan, USD 723.74 million (9.1%);
b. Republic of Korea, USD 642.85 million (8.1%);
c. USA, USD 603.86 million (7.6%); and
d. Indonesia, USD 559.64 million (7.1%).  (Figure 11, and Table 13)

7. Imports came largely from APEC member countries

By economic bloc, APEC member countries were the biggest supplier of the country’s imported goods in September 2020 with a value of USD 6.91 billion (87.3%). This was followed by East Asia with an import value of USD 4.02 billion (50.7%), and ASEAN, USD 2.14 billion (27.1%). (Figure 12, and Table 14)

8. Eastern Asia contributed the highest import value by geographic region

By geographic region, USD 4.02 billion of the country’s imports in September 2020 went to Eastern Asia. This was followed by South-eastern Asia, which amounted to USD 2.14 billion, and Northern America, which valued at USD 637.45 million. (Figure 13)

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

Explanatory Notes

Export and import trade statistics are compiled by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) from export and import documents submitted to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) by exporters and importers or their authorized representatives as required by law. The PSA regularly collects the following documents:

1. Export Declaration (ED – DTI form);
2. Import Entry and Internal Revenue Declaration (BOC IEIRD Form 236);
3. Informal Import Declaration and Entry (BOC Form 177); and
4. Single Administrative Documents (SAD)

The digitized copies of all documents are provided by BOC and Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to PSA on a monthly basis through email.

The output of the Automated Export Documentation System (AEDS) of the BOC is being utilized to generate export statistics. AEDS is a paperless transaction in lieu of the manual filling up of export documents.

Moreover, an electronic copy of the IEIRD, or SAD, is utilized to capture the monthly import figures. SAD-IEIRD is an on-line submission of import documents either by brokers or companies. These are transactions that pass through the Automated Cargo Operating System (ACOS), now called the e2m (electronic to mobile) customs system, which is implemented through the BOC e-Customs Project.

All documents (hard copies and e-files) received within the cut-off date, which is every 30th day of the month, are compiled, processed, summarized, analyzed, and disseminated through monthly statistical tables and press releases. Processing includes coding, editing, review, and validation of results. All documents received after the cut-off date are included in the generation of the revised monthly statistical tables which are available 10 to 15 working days after the press release date.

The press release for a reference month is every 40th day after the reference month. However, if the 40th day falls on a Saturday, the release is made a day earlier (Friday). If it falls on a Sunday or Monday, the release is on Tuesday. Moreover, if the release date falls on a holiday, the date of release is moved accordingly.

The 2015 Philippine Standard Commodity Classification (PSCC) is used to classify the commodities at 10-digit code level for statistical purposes.

Data requests on international merchandise trade statistics can be made at the PSA, Economic Sector Statistics Service, Trade Statistics Division with telephone number (02) 8376-1975 and email address j.soliven@psa.gov.ph.