FX.co ★ Philippine Imports Fall the Most in 14 Months

Philippine imports declined by 3.1% year-on-year to USD 11.1 billion in January 2026, reversing from an upwardly revised six-month high of 12.2% growth in December. This was the sharpest contraction since November 2024, largely reflecting weaker purchases of mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials (-25%), industrial machinery and equipment (-12.2%), and iron and steel (-19.7%).

In contrast, imports of electronic products rose 18.6%, driven in particular by higher inflows of medical and industrial instrumentation as well as semiconductors. Inbound shipments also increased for cereals and cereal preparations (20%) and for metal products (17.6%).

China remained the Philippines’ largest source of imports, supplying 29.2% of the total. Other major import partners were the Republic of Korea (11.2%), Japan (8.3%), Indonesia (7.1%), and the United States (5.9%).