Foreign trade is the system by which countries exchange goods and services. Countries trade with each other to obtain things that are better quality, less expensive or simply different from goods and services produced at home. The goods and services that are sold to other countries are called exports.

The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) free on board (FOB) value of export goods for June 2016 amounted to $126,759,844. The FOB value decreased by 7.3% from the amount of $136,702,091 last May 2016, but increased by 7.0% from the $118,414,572 FOB value last April 2016.

• The region produced 474,640 kilograms (kg) of export goods for June 2016, which is lower than the 362,134,314 kg produced last May 2016.

Exports by Commodity

• Among the commodities, machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical equipment, parts thereof, sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles continued to rank first with a share of 82.1% in export sales and amounting to $104,121,982 in export receipts. These goods shared 80.6% in the regional exports last May 2016 which is equivalent to $110,161,659.
• Vehicles, aircrafts, vessels and associated transport equipment with $21,385,827 FOB value came next comprising 16.9% in export sales for June 2016, and 18.8% during the previous month.
• The base metals and articles of base metals had the least share in export sales amounting to only $2,262 FOB value for June 2016, and $2,910 in May 2016.

• Singapore was the main destination with 34.6% of export goods that consist of machineries and mechanical appliances, electrical equipment, parts thereof, sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles with the total receipts of $35,973,034. This was followed by The Netherlands at 33.3% with export sales value of $34,636,783.
• Other countries that bought machineries and mechanical appliances from the region were the United States of America ($7,476,921), Taiwan ($7,458,355), Hong Kong ($6,421,042), People’s Republic of China ($5,100,458), Japan ($1,628,040), Thailand ($1,512,472), Canada ($1,133,096), Mexico ($688,667), France ($663,691), Malaysia ($656,808), UK of Great Britain and N. Ireland ($313,871), Republic of Korea ($224,583), Germany ($131,542), Vietnam ($58,723), Israel($30,823), Indonesia ($9717), Brazil ($1,472), Australia ($975), Romania ($717), and India ($192).

Country of Destination

• As of June 2016, CAR largely exported to 3 countries, namely Singapore, The Netherlands, and United States of America. Singapore had the biggest share of the region’s exports at 29.0% with total value of $36,739,304, followed by The Netherlands with 27.3% amounting to $34,650,011, and the United States of America at 15.7% or $19,843,638 in total exports value.
• The region also exported goods to countries such as Malaysia, Mexico, Canada, Republic of Korea, Israel, UAE, Switzerland, Thailand, Brazil, Italy, Indonesia, Belgium, Australia, Romania, Portugal, India, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. Exports to these countries registered total sales of $4,874,887 accounting to 3.8% of the region’s total exports receipts.

• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries are the primary foreign trading partners of CAR. APEC is composed of 21 member countries, namely: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United States of America, and Viet Nam.
• In June 2016, the region’s total exports receipts from APEC countries amounted to $85,087,096 representing 67.1% of the total export receipts of the region. Meanwhile, exports to non-APEC countries comprised 32.9% of the total goods and commodities exported which were valued at $41,672,748.
• Among the APEC member countries, Singapore topped the region’s foreign exports sales receipts registering 43.2%, followed by the United State of America at 23.3%, Taiwan at 9.1%, Hong Kong at 7.6%, People’s Republic of China at 6.3%, Japan at 5.2% and other APEC countries at 5.3%.

Technical Notes

Free on Board Value (FOB) - is the value of the goods free on board the carrier at the frontier of the exporting country. It includes inland freight, export duty and other expenses. In addition, the value of goods in the Philippine foreign trade statistics is FOB.

Country of Destination (Exports only) - it is the country where the goods are to be consumed, further processed, or manufactured.

Country of Origin (Imports only) - it is the country where the goods are mined, grown, or manufactured or where each foreign material used or incorporated in a good underwent a change in tariff classification indicating a substantial transformation under the applicable rule of origin for the good.

Exports - the goods and services that are sold to other countries.

Imports - the goods and services that a country buys from other countries.

PSCC (Philippine Standard Commodity Classification) - is used to classify the imported commodities at the most detailed level for statistical purposes.