TACLOBAN CITY– The region’s total external trade in goods in October 2024 was posted at USD 475.19 million, 8.5 percent lower than the US$ 519.20 million total trade in October 2023.
Of the total external trade in October 2024, 45.6 percent were exported goods, while 54.2 were imported goods.
With this, the balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) in October 2024 was registered at US$39.46 million, indicating a trade deficit which narrowed by 74.0 percent from USD -151.64 million BoT-G in the same month of 2023.
The value of exports in October 2024 was recorded at USD 217.87 million. This posted an increase of 18.5 percent from US$183.78 million in October 2023. The value of imports in October 2024 declined to US$ 257.32 million, which indicated a decrease of 23.3 percent from US$335.42 million in October 2023.
The total volume of goods exported by the region in October 2024 was 239.14 million kilograms, higher by 208.0 percent compared with the 77.64 million kilograms of exports in October 2023. Copper and articles thereof commodity group dominated the export market with sales which amounted to USD 150.10 million in October 2024.
This accounted 68.9 percent of the total value of exports during the month. The People’s Republic of China was the main export market with US$96.32 million worth of exports (44.2%) in October 2024.
The total volume of goods imported into the region in October 2024 was 229.56 million kilograms, higher by 16.9 percent than the 196.33 million kilograms in October 2023. The commodity group of ores, slag and ash valued at US$206.46 million accounted 80.2 percent of the total value of imports.
The major import supplier was Indonesia which accounted US$74.28 million or 28.9 percent of the total value of imports of the region in October 2024. (PR)
