A. TOTAL EXTERNAL TRADE AND BALANCE OF TRADE

1. Total external trade increased

The country’s total external trade in goods in September 2021, which amounted to USD 17.35 billion, grew at an annual rate of 16.9 percent. In the previous month, the annual increase was recorded at 25.9 percent, while in September 2020, the decline was -4.7 percent.  (Table A)

Of the total external trade in September 2021, 61.5 percent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods.

2. Trade deficit posted an annual increase

Balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) is the difference between the value of export and import. BoT-G in September 2021 amounted to USD -4.00 billion, representing a trade deficit with an annual increase of 76.3 percent. The trade deficit in the previous month recorded an annual increase of 61.0 percent, while in September 2020, it was at  -33.5 percent. (Figure 1, and Tables A and 2)

B. EXPORTS

1. Sales from export posted a positive growth

The country’s total export sales in September 2021, amounting to USD 6.68 billion, increased at an annual rate of 6.3 percent, from an increase of 18.9 percent in the previous month. In September 2020, total export sales increased at an annual rate of 3.4 percent.  (Figures 1 and 2, and Tables A and 2)

Of the top 10 major commodity groups in terms of the value of exports, seven recorded annual increases led by chemicals (55.4%). This was followed by gold (44.3%), and cathodes & sections of cathodes, of refined copper (39.8%). (Tables B and 3)

2. Year-to-date total export increased

The cumulative export earnings from January to September 2021 amounted to USD 55.68 billion, an 18.0 percent increase from the export value earned from January to September 2020. (Table 4)

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

By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country’s top export in September 2021 with total earnings of USD 3.82 billion. This amount accounted for 57.1 percent of the total exports during the period. This was followed by other mineral products with an export value of USD 358.24 million (5.4%); and other manufactured goods which amounted to USD 352.10 million (5.3%). (Figure 3 and Table 3)

4. Manufactured goods still comprised the biggest chunk of total exports among major types of goods

By major type of goods, exports of manufactured goods shared the biggest to the total exports in September 2021 amounting to USD 5.43 billion (81.2%). This was followed by mineral products with a share of USD 707.14 million (10.6%); and total agro-based products which contributed USD 418.37 million (6.3%). (Figure 4 and Table 5)

5. Total export value of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies decreased in September 2021

The total export value for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies in September 2021 dropped to USD 1.25 million. This represents an annual decrease of -89.1 percent from its value in September 2020.

The annual decrease in the export value for these medical items in the previous month was recorded at -81.7 percent, while in September 2020, the increase was significantly higher at 2,512.5 percent.

The annual decrement noted in the export of surgical face mask at -93.7 percent and other face mask (non-surgical/non-medical masks including masks made of cloth) at -84.2 percent contributed to the decrease of export value for PPE and medical supplies in September 2021.

Month-on-month, export value for PPE and medical supplies decreased by -31.7 percent in September 2021, while in August 2021, it increased by 34.3 percent.

Contributing to the monthly decrease in the export value of PPE and medical supplies were surgical face mask with a month-on-month decrease of -28.4 percent and other face mask (non-surgical/non-medical masks including masks made of cloth) at -23.3 percent. (Tables C and 5a)

6. United States of America contributed the highest export value

By major trading partner, exports to the United States of America (USA) comprised the highest export value amounting to USD 1.17 billion or a share of 17.5 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:

1. People’s Republic of China, USD 1.05 billion (15.7%);
2. Japan, USD 936.63 million (14.0%);
3. Hong Kong, USD 917.19 million (13.7%); and
4. Singapore, USD 402.58 million (6.0%).
   (Figure 5 and Table 7)

7. Majority of exports were for APEC countries

By economic bloc, majority of the country’s merchandise exports in September 2021 went to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries with a share of USD 5.74 billion (85.9%). This was followed by East Asia, valued at USD 3.34 billion (50.0%), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which amounted to USD 1.06 billion (15.9%). (Figure 6 and Table 8)

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

By geographic region, Eastern Asia comprised the highest export value amounting to USD 3.34 billion in September 2021. This was followed by Northern America with an export value of USD 1.21 billion and Southeastern Asia with USD 1.06 billion. (Figure 7 and Table 17)

C. IMPORTS

1. Import value increased

Total imported goods in September 2021, which amounted to USD 10.67 billion, increased at an annual rate of 24.8 percent. In August 2021, the annual increase was higher at 30.9 percent, while in September 2020, imports value decreased by -9.9 percent annually. (Figures 1 and 8, and Tables A and 2)

The annual increment of imported goods in September 2021 was due to the increase in all the top 10 major commodity groups which was led by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials with 117.4 percent increase. This was followed by medicinal and pharmaceutical products (105.8%); and iron and steel (67.1%). (Tables D and 9)

2. Year-to-date total import value increased

The cumulative import value from January to September 2021 amounted to USD 84.87 billion, representing an increment of 30.3 percent from the import value of USD 65.15 billion in the same period of 2020. (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 2.80 billion or a share of 26.2 percent to the total imports in September 2021. This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, valued at USD 1.43 billion (13.4%); and transport equipment which amounted to USD 648.11 million (6.1%). (Figure 9 and Table 9)

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

By major type of goods, imports of raw materials and intermediate goods accounted for the largest share of USD 4.51 billion (42.3%) to the total imports in September 2021. Imports of capital goods ranked second with a share of USD 2.98 billion (27.9%), followed by consumer goods with USD 1.68 billion (15.7%). (Figure 10 and Table 11)

5. Total import value of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies including COVID-19 vaccine increased in September 2021

The total import value for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies, including Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, increased to USD 221.93 million in September 2021, indicating an annual increment of 748.2 percent from its value in the same month of the previous year.

In September 2021, the total import of the COVID-19 vaccine was valued at USD 181.16 million.

Annual growth of import value for these medical items was recorded at 431.7 percent in the previous month, while in September 2020, the annual increase was noted at 1.4 percent.

The annual increments noted in the following items have increased the total import value for PPE and medical supplies during the period:

1. safety headgear (172.0%);
2. protective clothing (136.4%);
3. testing kits (105.6%); and
4. surgical gloves (9.9%).

Meanwhile, import value decreased year-on-year for face shield (-95.3%), surgical face mask (-50.8%), and other face mask (non-surgical/non-medical masks including masks made of cloth, (-1.7%).

Month-on-month, import value for PPE and medical supplies, including COVID-19 vaccine, increased by 33.6 percent in September 2021, while in the previous month, it also registered an increase of 33.6 percent.

Contributing to the monthly increase in the import value of PPE and medical supplies, including COVID-19 vaccine was surgical gloves with a month-on-month increase of 66.8 percent, COVID-19 vaccine (55.5%), face shield (43.1%), and other face mask (non-surgical/non-medical masks including masks made of cloth, 7.9%). On the other hand, import values decreased month-on-month for protective clothing (-62.3%), testing kits (-16.9%), surgical face mask (-14.8%), and safety headgear (-5.4%). (Tables E and 11a)

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 2.33 billion or 21.8 percent of the total imports in September 2021.

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

1. Japan, USD 970.65 million (9.1%);
2. Republic of Korea, USD 862.61 million (8.1%);
3. Indonesia, USD 810.96 million (7.6%); and
4. USA, USD 659.50 million (6.2%). (Figure 11 and Table 13)

7. Imports came largely from APEC member countries

By economic bloc, APEC member countries were the biggest suppliers of the country’s imported goods in September 2021 with a share of USD 8.87 billion (83.1%). This was followed by East Asia with an import value of USD 4.95 billion (46.4%), and ASEAN with USD 2.89 billion (27.1%). (Figure 12 and Table 14)

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

By geographic region, USD 4.95 billion of the country’s imports in September 2021 were from Eastern Asia. This was followed by Southeastern Asia whose import value amounted to USD 2.89 billion and Northern America valued at USD 745.35 million. (Figure 13 and Table 17)

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 following are documents collected, either in electronic or hard copies:

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) for ED and IEIRD.

The electronic copies of all documents that pass thru the online system are provided by BOC, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Value Added Service Providers (VASPs) to PSA on a monthly basis through email and via shared Google Drive.

The electronic copies of the Export Declarations (SAD-ED) from the Automated Export Documentation System (AEDS) of the BOC are being utilized to generate export statistics. The AEDS is a paperless transaction in lieu of the manual filling up of export documents.

Moreover, an electronic copy of the Import Entry and Internal Revenue Declaration (SAD-IEIRD) is utilized to capture the monthly import figures. The SAD-IEIRD is an import document submitted online 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 electronic files) received within the cut-off date, which is every 25th day of the month, are compiled, processed, summarized, analyzed, and disseminated through monthly statistical tables and press releases (PRs). Processing includes coding, editing, reviewing, and validating of results.

Preliminary results of export and import statistics are disseminated in the form of PR. The PR is disseminated 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. Preliminary results are posted on the PSA website (www.psa.gov.ph).

All documents received after the cut-off date are included in the generation of the revised results.  The revised data of the previous month are reported during the release of the preliminary report of the current month. Revisions are made for the previous months until the annual report is released three months after the reference year.

The 2019 Philippine Standard Commodity Classification (PSCC) is used to classify the commodities at 10-digit code level for statistical purposes.

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