Manila: The country's total external trade in goods went up 1.8 percent to USD17.87 billion in August from USD17.56 billion in the same month in 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said. Data released by the PSA on Thursday showed that of the total external trade during the month, 62.2 percent were imported goods, while 37.8 percent were exported goods. The total value of exports amounted to USD6.75 billion, up 0.3 percent from USD6.73 billion in August last year. Other manufactured goods recorded the highest increase in the value of exports, followed by copper concentrates, and machinery and transport equipment. By commodity group, electronic products continued to be the country's top exports in August 2024 accounting for about 52.9 percent or USD3.57 billion. This was followed by other manufactured goods with an export value of USD578.16 million, and other mineral products worth USD272.16 million. By major trading partner, exports to the United States comprised the highest export value amo unting to USD1.22 billion, followed by Hongkong, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and Korea. The total value of imports, meanwhile, amounted to USD11.12 billion, up 2.7 percent from USD10.83 billion in August last year. "In August 2024, the commodity group with the highest annual increment in the value of imported goods was electronic products with USD201.44 million," the PSA said. This was followed by transport equipment, and plastics in primary and non-primary forms. The PSA said China was the biggest supplier of imported goods amounting to USD2.79 billion or 25.1 percent of the country's total imports in August. Other biggest sources of imports were Indonesia, Korea, Japan, and the US. Meanwhile, the PSA said the balance of trade in goods or the difference between the value of exports and imports amounted to USD4.38 billion, up 6.6 percent from the USD4.1 billion deficit in August 2023. Source: Philippines News Agency