MANILA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' total external trade in goods dropped by 5.1 percent in May 2023 to 17.28 billion U.S. dollars from 18.20 billion dollars in May 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
Of the total external trade in May, the agency said that 62.7 percent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods.
The PSA said the balance of trade in goods or the difference between export and import value in May amounted to -4.40 billion dollars, indicating a trade deficit with an annual decrease of 20.9 percent.
China was the Philippines' highest supplier of imported goods, valued at 2.60 billion dollars, or 24 percent of the country's total imports in May.
China contributed the highest export value in May, with 1.07 billion dollars or 16.6 percent of the total exports. ■
