Exports and imports registered double-digit declines in 2020, amid the slowdown in domestic economy and fragile global recovery from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.
The PSA said exports contracted by 10.1 percent last year to $63.77 billion from $70.926 billion in 2019. It said exports dropped slightly by 0.2 percent in December to $5.737 billion from $5.75 billion a year ago.
Imports posted a deeper decline of 23.28 percent in 2020 to $85.606 billion from $111.593 billion in 2019. Inbound shipments went down by 9.11 percent in December to $7.918 billion from $8.712 billion a year earlier.
These latest numbers resulted in a trade deficit of $21.839 billion in 2020, or 46.29 percent lower than the $40.666-billion shortfall in 2019.