Philippine imports rose 21.9% year-on-year to USD 13.4 billion in May 2026, following an upwardly revised 27.3% increase in April. The expansion was largely driven by a 93.3% surge in electronic products, led by semiconductor components (+125.8%), electronic data processing equipment (+43.8%), and communication/radar equipment (+42.9%).
Inbound shipments also grew markedly for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (+35.6%), as well as telecommunications equipment and electrical machinery (+21.2%). These gains were partly offset by lower imports of transport equipment (-24.3%) and iron and steel (-14.5%).
China remained the Philippines’ largest source of imports, accounting for 29.4% of the total, with purchases from China up 31.9%. Import values also jumped from South Korea (+153.9%), Malaysia (+84.2%), and Singapore (+20.2%).
For the first five months of 2026, total imports increased 16.2% year-on-year to USD 63.1 billion.
