THE agricultural goods trade deficit widened 31.7% year on year to $2.35 billion in the fourth quarter, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, citing preliminary data.
The PSA gave no totals for full-year trade.
In the third quarter of 2021, the deficit was $2.37 billion.
According to the fourth quarter data, imports tallied $4.16 billion, up 26.7% from a year earlier, while exports amounted to $1.82 billion, up 20.8%.
Total fourth-quarter trade in agricultural goods — or the sum of exports and imports — rose 24.9% year on year.
Cereals accounted for the largest share of fourth-quarter imports by value at $901.39 million, or 21.7% of the total.
Agricultural imports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amounted to $1.53 billion or 17% of all goods imported from the region. Indonesia was the top source of farm goods with $483.75 million.
The top commodities imported from ASEAN were animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes ($397.71 million), cereals ($347.05 million) and miscellaneous edible preparations ($324.60 million).
In the fourth quarter, the value of agricultural exports accounted for 9.6% of all exports.
The top export was edible fruits and nuts and peel of citrus fruit and melons, valued at $502 million or 27.6% of the total.
Exports to ASEAN amounted to $203.20 million in the fourth quarter, or 6.3% of total exports to the region. Malaysia was the top destination of agricultural exports in the region, accounting for $75.53 million.
The top commodities exported to ASEAN were animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes ($62.53 million); tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes ($60.71 million), and preparations of cereals, flour, starch or milk; pastrycooks’ products ($17.63 million).
The Netherlands was the country’s top export destination in Europe with $240.61 million or 59.4% of all European shipments, while Spain was the leading source of European imports with $445.89 million or 17.5%. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
