MANILA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' total external trade in goods rose by 18.6 percent in March to 19.35 billion U.S. dollars with China remaining its biggest trading partner, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
Of the total external trade in March, the statistics agency said 62.9 percent were imported goods, while the rest were exported goods.
China was the Philippines' biggest supplier of imported goods with 17.5 percent of the total imports in March, while exports to China reached a share of 16.5 percent of the total.
The PSA said the balance of trade in goods in March amounted to -5 billion dollars, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increase of 81.4 percent. ■