The Philippines’ trade deficit widened to USD 5.5 billion in May 2026 from USD 3.6 billion in the same month a year earlier.
This marked the second-largest trade gap in over a year, behind only April’s reading, as imports jumped 21.9% year-on-year to USD 13.4 billion, driven by a sharp increase in purchases of electronic products (+93.3%), particularly semiconductors (+125.8%), amid the ongoing global boom in AI demand.
Imports also increased for mineral fuels (+35.6%) and cereal and cereal preparations (+2.5%).
China accounted for the largest share of imports (31.7%), followed by South Korea (13.2%) and Indonesia (6.4%).
Meanwhile, exports rose 7.6% to USD 7.9 billion, driven by higher sales of electronic products (+11.9%), machinery and transport equipment (+51.2%), other mineral products (+30.2%), and gold (+19.4%).
The US remained the top export market, accounting for 17.2%, followed by Hong Kong (15.2%), Japan (13.1%), and China (11.5%).