Food, live animals dominated P390-B local trades in Q1

Domestic trades of food and live animals amounted to P225.08 billion in the first quarter, making up 57.8 percent of total trade value. —PHOTO FROM INQUIRER.NET

The volume of domestic trades increased by nearly a fifth on an annual basis in the first quarter with the value swelling by almost 50 percent, driven largely by the food and live animals markets.

In a report, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the quantity of locally traded goods from one region or province to another had increased by 19.7 percent to 7.73 tons in the first three months from 6.45 tons a year ago.

“Almost all of the commodities were traded through water (coastwise), while the rest were traded through air in the first quarter of 2024,” the PSA said. It noted that 99.9 percent of merchandise goods had traveled across the archipelago using the waterways.

The reported growth rate in quantity during the first quarter was faster than the 18-percent pace recorded in the same period last year, but it was slower than the 33.4 percent volume growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, domestic trade in terms of value soared by 46.7 percent to P389.41 billion from P265.52 billion a year ago. It also exceeded the P326.56 worth of domestic trade seen during the last quarter of 2023.

Further, the PSA said that the most traded goods were food and live animals, reaching P225.08 billion in value and making up 57.8 percent of the total.

Machinery, equipment market

This was followed by machinery and equipment, a commodity group that reached a total value of P73.97 billion. It accounted for 19 percent of trades during the period.

By geography, Western Visayas had the highest amount of domestic trades valued at P223.33 billion, or 57.4 percent of the total.

This was followed by the National Capital Region with a 9.4-percent share, equivalent to P36.55 billion, and Central Visayas, which had a 9.3-percent share and a domestic trade value of P36.33 billion.