Philippine Imports at Historic High

2026-04-30 01:27 By Joshua Ferrer 1 min. read

Philippine imports rose by 12.3% year-on-year to a record high of USD 12.7 billion in March 2026, following a 16.6% growth in the previous month.

The increase was largely driven by a sharp 44.2% rise in imports of electronic products, particularly semiconductor components (+61%), communication/radar (+30.5%), and medical/industrial instrumentation (+23.9%).

Arrivals also increased for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (+35.1%) and cereals and cereal preparations (+33.6%), partially offset by declines in transport equipment (-16.3%), industrial machinery and equipment (-9.9%), and iron and steel (-16.2%).

Among the country’s largest trading partners, China remained the top supplier, accounting for 28.5% of total imports, with imports rising 9.3%.

Imports also increased from South Korea (+89.3%), the US (+25.8%), Malaysia (+33.4%), and Singapore (+23.9%).

For January–March, total imports increased 8.9% to USD 35.5 billion.



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Philippine Imports at Historic High
Philippine imports rose by 12.3% year-on-year to a record high of USD 12.7 billion in March 2026, following a 16.6% growth in the previous month. The increase was largely driven by a sharp 44.2% rise in imports of electronic products, particularly semiconductor components (+61%), communication/radar (+30.5%), and medical/industrial instrumentation (+23.9%). Arrivals also increased for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (+35.1%) and cereals and cereal preparations (+33.6%), partially offset by declines in transport equipment (-16.3%), industrial machinery and equipment (-9.9%), and iron and steel (-16.2%). Among the country’s largest trading partners, China remained the top supplier, accounting for 28.5% of total imports, with imports rising 9.3%. Imports also increased from South Korea (+89.3%), the US (+25.8%), Malaysia (+33.4%), and Singapore (+23.9%). For January–March, total imports increased 8.9% to USD 35.5 billion.
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