Agriculture trade improves 16% in 2018 fourth quarter

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s agricultural trade value improved 16 percent to $5.23 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 despite lower commodity exports, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Latest data from PSA showed agricultural trade expanded 15.9 percent to $5.23 billion despite the two percent drop in total export revenue to $16.53 billion.

Total agricultural export, however, increased nine percent to $1.66 billion, allowing the sector’s share to total export to increase a percentage point.

Imports went up 6.3 percent to $30.1 billion, while the sector’s share to total imports rose 1.3 percentage points.

Agricultural imports grew 20 percent to $3.57 billion in the fourth quarter from $2.99 billion in the same quarter in 2017.

Top exported agricultural commodities include animals or vegetable oils, edible fruits and nuts, tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, preparation of vegetables, fruits, and nuts, fish and crustaceans, and preparation of meat, fish, and other crustaceans.

Completing the major export commodities were preparation of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastry cooks’ products, sugars and sugar confectionary, gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts, and residues and waste from food industries.

On the other hand, major import commodities during the period were cereals, prepared animal fodder, meat and edible meat offals, sugar and sugar confectionary, and animal and vegetable fats and oils.

Among the country’s major trading partners, Japan posted a trade surplus of $224.1 million.

Other trading partners include the ASEAN with a $987.37 million trade deficit, US ($473.83 million), Australia ($84.81 million) and the European Union ($96.2 million).

Among the ASEAN-member countries, Malaysia was the top destination for exports with a 32 percent share valued at $58 million while Thailand was the top supplier of agricultural products accounting for a 28 percent share or $324 million.

As for exports in EU-member countries which reached $263.5 million, Netherlands was the country’s top trading partner of agricultural commodities with exports hitting $121 million and imports amounting to $72 million.