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MANILA, Philippines — As regional leaders meet for the 2026 Asean Summit in Cebu to discuss regional cooperation and economic resilience, new trade data show where the Philippines stands in Southeast Asia.
Based on bilateral trade figures from the UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database, the Philippines posted the largest trade deficit among Asean economies from 2015 to 2024.
Dr. Alicor Panao, an Inquirer data scientist and associate professor at the University of the Philippines, said the gap widened from $8.5 billion to $26.8 billion over the period.
A trade deficit occurs when a country imports more than it exports, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said.
