Agri trade value rises 10% to $5.06 B in Q1

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s agricultural trade value improved 10 percent to $5.06 billion in the first quarter despite lower commodity exports, the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Latest data from PSA showed agricultural trade expanded 9.9 percent to $5.06 billion even as total export revenue decreased three percent to $16.41 billion.

Total agricultural export, however, inched up by almost a percentage point to $1.5 billion, allowing the sector’s share to total exports increase by 0.3 percentage points.

Imports went up 4.7 percent to $27.64 billion.

Agricultural imports reflected an increase of 14.4 percent valued at $3.56 billion.

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, gums, resins and other vegetable saps and extracts, miscellaneous edible preparations, and beverages, spirits and vinegar.

On the other hand, major import commodities include cereals, miscellaneous edible preparations, residues and waste from the food industries, prepared animal fodder, dairy produce, 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 $230.59 million.

Other trading partners include the ASEAN with a $1.03 billion trade deficit, US ($489.81 million), Australia ($177.18 million) and the European Union ($165.25 million).

Among the ASEAN-member countries, Malaysia was the top destination for export with a 31 percent share valued at $55.35 million while Vietnam was the top supplier of agricultural products reaching $341 million or a 28 percent share.

As for exports in EU-member countries which totalled to $230.59 million, Netherlands was the country’s top trading partner of agricultural commodities with exports reaching $83.49 million and imports amounting to $77.21 million.