Economy saw weaker domestic trade over the holidays

Despite further economic reopening during the Christmas holiday season, strong typhoons plus base effects pulled down the volume and value of goods traded across the archipelago during the fourth quarter of 2021.

The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest domestic trade report on Tuesday showed that the quantity of products moved locally from October to December 2021 declined 29.5 percent to 3.32 million tons from 4.71 million tons during the same three-month period last year.

Lower total value

In terms of value, domestic trade dropped 36.4 percent to P105.9 billion during the fourth quarter of last year from P166.5 billion a year ago.

To recall, a string of typhoons battered the country in the fourth quarter of 2021, temporarily stopping air and water transport means while also damaging local crops like vegetables, resulting in temporary short supply.

Also, base effect played a role as domestic trade volume and value inched up toward the end of 2020 when the government, at that time, eased the longest and most stringent lockdowns imposed to contain COVID-19 at the onset of the pandemic.

But on a year-on-year basis, local trade of goods in the fourth quarter of 2020 were below prepandemic 2019 levels as restrictions lingered.

PSA data showed that the fourth quarter 2021 domestic trade value and volume were also lower than the third quarter’s P183.8 billion and 4.56 million tons, respectively.

Food, livestock most traded

The PSA said food and live animals were the most traded commodity in the country in terms of volume during the October-to-December 2021 period, with 1.13 million tons or one-third of the total.

As for value, machinery and transport equipment were the top traded at the end of last year, with P32.49 billion worth or 30.7 percent of total goods transferred from one province or region to another.

Per PSA data, 99.9 percent of commodities were traded or delivered to other parts of the country last year through water transportation, while the rest were via air transport. INQ