Worsening trade deficit

The Philippine government is the single largest procuring entity in the local economy, allocating at least a trillion pesos each year of taxpayers' money to acquire goods and services for its projects and to deliver services to its citizens.

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

According to the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, based on the spending priorities released by the Department of Budget and Management, the government allocated P1.107 trillion under the Build, Build, Build infrastructure program, P204.1 billion in response to the pandemic and to improve the healthcare system, and the rest, for other priority projects.

This year, infrastructure spending of the government amounted to P1.3 trillion.

Imagine if all these amounts were spent to buy locally made products.

After all, local companies, big and small alike, are the ones investing in the economy, creating jobs, paying taxes and generating multiplier effects that benefit communities.

If a product is locally available and meets the required quality and standards, then there is no reason for the government to buy it from elsewhere.

Another reason why the government should prioritize local products is of course to save on foreign exchange.

According to latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the balance of trade in goods, which is the difference between the value of exports and imports, in October 2024 amounted to minus $5.8 billion, indicating a trade deficit with an annual increment of 36.8 percent.

Philippine imports in October were higher at $11.96 billion compared to exports valued at $6.16 billion, or a difference of $5.8 billion.

In October of 2023, the deficit was smaller, with imports at $10.76 billion and exports at $6.51 billion or a balance of trade in goods of minus $4.24 billion.

The value of imported goods in October this year was 11.2 percent higher than that in the same month in 2023.