Agricultural trade continued to fall in the last quarter of 2020, underlining the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic on industries that were reliant on the global market.
From October to December last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the value of the country’s agricultural trade dropped to $4.66 billion from $4.97 billion in the third quarter. On an annual basis, this is lower by 7 percent.
Earnings from imports and exports consistently declined for the entire year mainly due to lockdown measures implemented globally.
Exports of agricultural goods in the fourth quarter amounted to $1.47 billion while imports hit $3.19 billion. The trade gap of $1.72 billion during the quarter was the highest recorded in 2020.
Agricultural export revenue also decreased by 10.4 percent. Overall, agricultural exports shared 8.2 percent of the country’s total exports.
According to the PSA, the country’s top agricultural exports in the fourth quarter were edible fruits and nuts, peel of citrus fruit or melons, animal or vegetable fats and oils and their cleavage products, and prepared edible fats and animal or vegetable waxes.
In the Asean, tobacco and manufactured tobacco products remained the country’s top exports, with Malaysia and Thailand as the country’s leading trade partners.