By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, <\/b>Senior Reporter <\/i><\/p>\n
THE PHILIPPINES\u2019 trade deficit in goods ballooned to $4.94 billion in June because the boom in artificial in<\/span>telligence (AI) drove double-digit growth in exports and imports, <\/span>data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.<\/span><\/p>\n Preliminary data from the PSA showed the trade-in-goods balance \u2014 the difference between exports and imports \u2014 stood at a $4.94-billion deficit in June, widening by 12.3% from the $4.4 billion recorded in the identical month last 12 months. <\/span><\/p>\n Month on month, the trade gap narrowed from the $6.1-billion deficit posted in May.<\/p>\n June saw the smallest trade gap in 4 months or because the $4.01-billion gap in February.<\/span><\/p>\n The country\u2019s trade balance has been in deficit for greater than a decade or because the $64.95-million surplus recorded in May 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cRising global demand for semi<\/span>conductors and other electronics is increasingly shaping the Philippines\u2019 trade profile,\u201d Chinabank Research said in a commentary.<\/span><\/p>\n Merchandise exports jumped by 24.1% to $8.77 billion, a tad slower than the 26.9% increase a 12 months ago but <\/span>faster than the 8.6% growth in May. <\/span><\/p>\n Total outbound sales of Philippine-made goods in June were the best because the series began in 1991.<\/p>\n At the identical time, imports jumped by 19.6% to $13.711 billion in June, faster than the 15.8% increase in the identical month last 12 months but <\/span>slower than the 28.2% rise in May.<\/span><\/p>\n The June import bill was the bottom since April when it hit $13.71 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n In the primary half of the 12 months, the trade-in-goods deficit ballooned by 25.85% to $30.81 billion from $24.48 billion last 12 months.<\/span><\/p>\n For the January-to-June period, imports jumped by 17.84% to $77.53 billion from $65.79 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n Merchandise exports rose by 13.09% to $46.72 billion from $41.31 billion a 12 months ago.<\/p>\n The Development Budget Coordination Committee projects exports and imports to grow by 3% and 5%, respectively, this 12 months.<\/p>\n AI DEMAND \u201cRapidly escalating demand for AI, Web of Things, and investment in hyperscale data centers fueled strong growth of components and semiconductors,\u201d the Depart<\/span>ment of Trade and Industry said in a <\/span>statement.<\/span><\/p>\n Semiconductor exports, which accounted for the majority of electronic products, rose by 33.4% in June to $3.85 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cSemiconductors continued to underpin the strong exports performance. The strong growth got here despite near-term headwinds reminiscent of ongoing warehouse congestion, which disrupted production schedules, raised logistics and storage costs, and put pressure on exporters\u2019 delivery commitments,\u201d Chinabank Research said.<\/p>\n Exports of mineral products, which made up 4.7% of total exports in June, slumped by 17.7% to $414.85 million.<\/p>\n In June, the US was the highest destination of Philippine-made goods with a worth of $1.76 billion or 20.1% of the full.<\/span><\/p>\n This was followed by Hong Kong with $1.34 billion (15.3%), China with $1 billion (11.4%), Japan with $990.16 million (11.3%), and Singapore with $508.18 million (5.8% share).<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, imports of raw materials and intermediate goods jumped by 53.4% to $5.89 billion in June, accounting for 42.9% of the full import bill.<\/p>\n Imports of capital goods declined by 5.5% to $3.62 billion, making up 26.4% of June imports.<\/span><\/p>\n By commodity group, electronic goods posted the most important import value in June at $4.77 billion, up 82.9% from $2.61 billion in the identical month last 12 months. Electronic products accounted for 34.8% of imports.<\/p>\n Semiconductor imports, which made up 27.4% of imported electronic goods, greater than doubled (105.4%) to $3.76 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cImports of materials for electronic equipment manufacturing soared (+227.9%), raising their share of total imports to 18.3% from 6.7% a 12 months earlier. This underscores the country\u2019s growing participation in AI-related and electronics supply chains,\u201d Chinabank Research said.<\/span><\/p>\n Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, which accounted for 11.8% of June imports, rose by 6.3% to $1.62 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cThe true engines of the surge in imports were higher global oil prices, transportation costs, and other logistics expenses because of the supply-chain disruptions spawned by the Middle East crisis,\u201d Francisco Cid L. Terosa, a former dean on the University of Asia and the Pacific School of Economics, said in an e-mail.<\/p>\n China remained the country\u2019s top source of imported goods in June with $4.35 billion or 31.7% of the full import bill.<\/p>\n Republic of Korea followed with $1.78 billion (13% share), Japan with $919.13 million (6.7%), Indonesia with $912.63 million (6.7%), and the US with $706.7 million (5.2%).<\/p>\n Looking ahead, export growth will probably be driven by the upcoming AI hub in Tarlac under the US-led Pax Silica initiative, which is anticipated to spice up the Philippines\u2019 shipments of higher-value semiconductors, Chinabank Research said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWithin the medium term, we predict that the Pax Silica industrial hub could significantly strengthen the Philippines\u2019 role in the worldwide technology industry by supporting exports of higher-value semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, and AI-related infrastructure,\u201d it noted.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, concerns over the potential effect of the AI hub on water and energy resources ought to be addressed to make sure sustainable economic development, Chinabank Research said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Container vans are stacked on the Port Area in Manila, June 20, 2026. \u2014 PHILIPPINE STAR\/NOEL PABALATE By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter THE PHILIPPINES\u2019 trade deficit in goods ballooned to $4.94 billion in June because the boom in artificial intelligence (AI) drove double-digit growth in exports and imports, data from the Philippine Statistics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":374493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[54429,1105,1082,3838,17334],"class_list":["post-374492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-4-94b","tag-gap","tag-june","tag-trade","tag-widens"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bworldonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/260731Trade_Merchandise_ONLINE-1024x1024.jpg\")
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<\/b>Electronic products, which cornered 59.9% of total exports in June, jumped by 35.2% to $5.25 billion.<\/p>\n