Manila: The country's trade deficit narrowed in July this year on the back of the double-digit growth in exports, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed. Data released on Friday revealed that the balance of trade of goods, or the difference between the value of exports and imports, decreased by 17 percent to USD 4.05 billion in July, compared to USD 4.8 billion in the same month last year.

According to Philippines News Agency, total export sales increased by 17.3 percent to USD 7.3 billion from last year's USD 6.2 billion. This growth was mainly driven by higher exports of electronic products, other mineral products, and gold. The PSA highlighted that electronic products continued to dominate the country's top exports in July 2025, generating total earnings of USD3.92 billion, which constituted 53.5 percent of the country's total exports for the month.

By major trading partner, the United States of America accounted for the highest export value, amounting to USD1.16 billion. Other significant trading partners included Hong Kong, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and the Netherlands.

On the import side, the value of imported goods rose by 2.3 percent to USD11.4 billion from USD11.1 billion in July last year. Electronic products were the commodity group with the highest import value in July 2025, amounting to USD2.80 billion or accounting for 24.6 percent of the country's total imports. This was followed by mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials, and transport equipment.

China emerged as the country's largest supplier of imported goods, followed by Korea, Indonesia, Japan, and the USA.