In May 2024, Eastern Visayas’ balance of trade in goods (BoT-G) bounced to USD 6.32 million. This indicated a trade surplus, in contrast to the USD 106.40 million trade deficit incurred in May 2023.

The total value of exports in May 2024 was USD 176.98 million, up by 27.68 percent from the USD 138.61 million exports in May 2023. Meanwhile, the total value of imports was USD 170.66 million in May 2024, posting an annual decline of 30.34 percent from the USD 245.01 million imports in May 2023.

Total external trade in May 2024 was USD 347.65 million, posting an annual decrease of 9.38 percent compared with the USD 383.62 million total trade in May 2023.

The total volume of goods exported by the region in May 2024 was 31.87 million kilograms, posting a decline of 70.24 percent from the 107.11 million kilograms of goods exported in May 2023. The commodity group of copper and articles thereof remained to be the region’s major export with sales amounting to USD 122.25 million. This accounted for 69.07 percent of the total value of exports in May 2024. The People’s Republic of China was the major export market with USD 85.20 million worth of exports or 48.14 percent of the total value of exports in May 2024.

The total volume of goods imported into the region in May 2024 was 143.17 million kilograms, posting a decrease of 25.36 percent compared with the 191.81 million kilograms of goods imported in May 2023. Ores, slag, and ash commodity group comprised more than half (50.45%) of the total import, valued at USD 86.10 million. Canada and Australia supplied USD 44.36 million and USD 42.67 million worth of imported goods, respectively, each comprising a quarter of the total value of imports in May 2024.

SGD. WILMA A. PERANTE
Regional Director