2026.02.2701:16:20UTC+00Philippines Trade Deficit Narrows in January

The Philippines’ trade deficit narrowed to USD 4.0 billion in January 2026 from USD 4.9 billion a year earlier, as exports increased and imports declined. Exports rose 7.9% year-on-year to USD 7.1 billion, driven primarily by a strong uptick in electronic products (+18.8%). Electronics remained the country’s leading export, accounting for 56.5% of total outbound shipments. Export growth was also supported by surging shipments of gold (+263%) and machinery and transport equipment (+68.4%).

By destination, the United States was the Philippines’ largest export market, taking a 16.4% share of total exports, followed by Hong Kong (15.9%), Japan (12.3%), and China (9.8%).

On the import side, total purchases from abroad fell 3.1% to USD 11.1 billion. The decline was mainly due to reduced imports of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials (-25%), transport equipment (-3.3%), and industrial machinery and equipment (-12.2%).

China remained the Philippines’ top import source, accounting for 29.2% of total imports, followed by South Korea (11.2%), Japan (8.3%), and Indonesia (7.1%).