Domestic trade declines in the third quarter

December 2, 2021 | 00h00

MANILA, Philippines – Local commodities trade was not immune to the impact of the return to lockdown in the third quarter, as mobility restrictions affected the flow of goods.

Based on preliminary results of the country’s domestic trade released by the Statistics Authority of the Philippines, the value of goods traded within the country declined from July to September.

The overall value of goods traded over the three-month period fell 15 percent to 142.33 billion pesos from 167.26 billion pesos a year ago.

The government reimposed the enhanced community quarantine in many parts of the country in August, with the Delta variant causing a spike in COVID cases.

Such a development again reduced mobility and slowed down domestic trade, which was just starting to develop in the second quarter.

In terms of volume, the amount of domestic trade reached 3.84 million metric tons, increasing only 0.7 percent from 3.81 million tons in the previous year.

By product group, manufactured products classified mainly by material exceeded in terms of commercial quantity, accounting for 36.8 percent of the total.

Next came food and live animals and products and transactions not elsewhere classified, which accounted for 21 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

However, machinery and transport equipment made up the bulk of the total value, accounting for 31.5% or 44.8 billion pesos.

Manufactured products classified mainly by material, valued at 36.66 billion pesos, came second, followed by food and live animals for an amount of 29.41 billion pesos.

During the quarter, the trade balance – the difference between the value of outputs and the value of inputs – was most favorable in the Eastern Visayas, which recorded a balance of 20.32 billion pesos, northern Mindanao, 14.07 billion pesos and the region of Bicol, 4.98 billion pesos.

Caraga, on the other hand, had the highest negative trade balance of 30.44 billion pesos in the third quarter. It was followed by Mimaropa with 3.18 billion pesos and the Zamboanga peninsula with 3 billion pesos.

Meanwhile, the central Visayas recorded the highest amount of goods traded with 1.52 million tonnes or 40 percent of the total.

The Eastern Visayas, on the other hand, ranked first with a total value of goods traded of 32.31 billion pesos or 22.7 percent of the whole.

The PSA compiles domestic trade statistics from coasting trade manifests and coastal passenger manifests from major ports and other active seaports listed by Philippine port authorities nationwide.

It also collects Philippine Airlines air waybills as a source of domestic air trade statistics.