Domestic trade volume grows 12%

MANILA, Philippines — Domestic trade grew both in terms of volume and value in the fourth quarter of 2018, driven by higher shipments of food and live animals as well as machinery and transport equipment, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

Preliminary results of the Highlights of the Domestic Trade Statistics in the Philippines for the last quarter of 2018 showed the total volume of locally traded commodities during the period rose by 11.7 percent to 7.24 million tons from 6.48 million tons in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Likewise, the value of goods traded within the country inched up by 0.3 percent to P177 billion during the fourth quarter of 2018 from P176.39 billion in the same quarter of 2017.

In terms of volume, shipments of food and live animals had the largest share among commodities, making up 28.8 percent of total shipments.

Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes commodities had the least quantity, with only 0.02 million tons.

In terms of value, machinery and transport equipment had the highest value among commodities traded during the period, with shipments amounting to P61.11 billion or 34.5 percent of the total value of domestic trade.

Almost all (99.9 percent) of the commodities were traded through water while the remainder were carried via air transport.

Among the regions, four registered positive trade balances in the fourth quarter of 2018. This means their trade outflow is greater than their inflow.