The Republic of the Philippines imported US$90.8 billion worth of products from around the globe during 2020, down by -19.6% from $112.9 billion in 2019.

This article presents a quick reference snapshot of the Philippines’ main imported products categorized by dollar amount and major trading partners.

Data is organized by overall metrics then drill down to the Philippines’ most valuable imports during 2020 for each of Philippines’ top 10 supplier countries. Those leading trading partners accounted for about four-fifths (79.6%) of Philippines’ import purchases.

Product categories shown summarize calculations at the two-digit Harmonized System code level. Two-digit codes enable higher-level insights and trends for Filipino imports and each of the top supplier countries.

Philippines’ Main Imports from China

The Philippines shares a maritime border with China in the South China Sea, albeit both countries dispute the length of the border. Nevertheless, this geography proximity facilitates trade between the relatively nearby Asian countries.

In 2020, China’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $21 billion or 23.1% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents an -18.6% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 79.9% of Philippines’ imports from mainland China.

Electronic equipment: $6.3 billion
Machinery: $2.4 billion
Mineral fuels including oil: $1.6 billion
Iron and steel: $1.12 billion
Iron or steel products: $1.05 billion
Plastics: $734.3 million
Vehicles: $696.9 million
Fruits, nuts: $521.5 million
Ceramic products: $515.1 million
Furniture, lighting, signs: $411.4 million
Other manufactured products: $298.3 million
Medical, technical equipment: $295.5 million
Organic chemicals: $283.3 million
Paper: $235.6 million
Fertilizers: $234.9 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from China under the fruits and nuts product category via a 58.5% gain in revenue, electronic equipment (up 5.4%) and miscellaneous manufactured products (up 1.6%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were mineral fuels including oil (down -53.3%), medical or technical equipment (down -52.7%), iron and steel as materials (down -32%, vehicles (down -27.9%), furniture, lighting and signs (down -23.7%) then ceramic products (down -21.7%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Japan

In 2020, Japan’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $8.7 billion or 9.6% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents an -18.6% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 90.7% of Philippines’ imports from Japan.

Electronic equipment: $3 billion
Machinery: $1.9 billion
Vehicles: $767.6 million
Plastics: $519.7 million
Iron and steel: $437.3 million
Medical, technical equipment: $266.9 million
Organic chemicals: $177 million
Iron or steel products: $166.6 million
Other chemical goods: $150.1 million
Copper: $127.9 million
Rubber: $126.2 million
Tanning, dyeing extracts: $74.9 million
Wood: $72.9 million
Paper: $72 million
Inorganic chemicals: $66.6 million

The sole increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Japan under the medical or technical equipment product category via a 1.9% gain in revenue and for miscellaneous chemical goods (up 0.7%).

Posting the severest declines among Philippines’ top 15 imported products were vehicles (down -47.5%), paper (down -31.9%), machinery (down -24.8%), copper (down -21.1%), inorganic chemicals (down -20%) and rubber (down -17.3%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from the US

In 2020, the United States of America’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $7.1 billion or 7.9% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -13.2% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 87.2% of Philippines’ imports from the United States.

Electronic equipment: $2.2 billion
Food waste, animal fodder: $939.3 million
Cereals: $874.7 million
Machinery: $413.3 million
Dairy, eggs, honey: $357.9 million
Medical, technical equipment: $204.1 million
Pharmaceuticals: $196.1 million
Meat: $181.4 million
Plastics: $163.2 million
Aircraft, spacecraft: $159.3 million
Other food preparations: $136.6 million
Beverages: $124.4 million
Other chemical goods: $114.9 million
Mineral fuels including oil: $90.7 million
Vegetable/fruit preparations: $85.1 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from the United States under the dairy, eggs and honey product category via a 50.3% gain in revenue, pharmaceuticals (up 45.4%), cereals (up 13.6%) and plastics as a material (up 3.2%).

Posting the severest declines among Philippines’ top 15 imported products were aircraft and spacecraft (down -58.8%), machinery (down -36.1%), vegetable or fruit preparations (down -31.7%), beverages (down -22.7%), miscellaneous chemical goods (down -21.1%) and medical or technical equipment (down -20.8%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from South Korea

In 2020, South Korea’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $7 billion or 7.7% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -17.5% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 91.6% of Philippines’ imports from South Korea.

Electronic equipment: $3.7 billion
Mineral fuels including oil: $951.7 million
Machinery: $334.9 million
Other chemical goods: $236.2 million
Iron and steel: $226.4 million
Plastics: $216.2 million
Ships, boats: $177.5 million
Copper: $105.7 million
Vehicles: $97.2 million
Organic chemicals: $93.8 million
Paper: $70.3 million
Medical, technical equipment: $68.4 million
Gems, precious metals: $58.3 million
Furniture, lighting, signs: $50.3 million
Pharmaceuticals: $44.8 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from South Korea under the ships and boats product category via a 3,496% gain in revenue, furniture, lighting and signs (up 234.5%), miscellaneous chemical goods (up 32.8%), iron and steel as materials (up 31.7%) then electronic equipment (up 10.2%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were vehicles (down -66.6%), mineral fuels including oil (down -56.4%), medical or technical equipment (down -38.8%), machinery (down -30.9%), pharmaceuticals (down -23.6%) and copper (down -23.1%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Indonesia

In 2020, Indonesia’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $5.9 billion or 6.5% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -16% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 87.8% of Philippines’ imports from Indonesia.

Vehicles: $1.7 billion
Mineral fuels including oil: $1.5 billion
Other food preparations: $442.5 million
Animal/vegetable fats and oils: $327.9 million
Paper: $181.9 million
Electronic equipment: $175.3 million
Machinery: $139.5 million
Cereal, milk preparations: $133.3 million
Fertilizers: $125.5 million
Pharmaceuticals: $119.3 million
Other chemical goods: $93.2 million
Plastics: $85.8 million
Soaps, lubricants, candles: $84.9 million
Sugar: $69.3 million
Iron and steel: $64.9 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Indonesia under the iron and steel as materials product category via a 2,581% gain in revenue, then soaps, lubricants and candles (up 28.5%), animal or vegetable fats and oils (up 12.8%) and miscellaneous chemical goods (up 8.8%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were machinery (down -36.3%), vehicles (down -30.2%), electronic equipment (down -25.3%), sugar (down -19.8%), mineral fuels including oil (down -16.2%) and miscellaneous food preparations (down -12.4%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Singapore

In 2020, Singapore’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $5.6 billion or 6.2% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -16.5% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 93.4% of Philippines’ imports from Singapore.

Electronic equipment: $2.1 billion
Mineral fuels including oil: $822.6 million
Machinery: $748.6 million
Other food preparations: $282.7 million
Medical, technical equipment: $277.2 million
Plastics: $241.3 million
Perfumes, cosmetics: $234.3 million
Cereal, milk preparations: $100.2 million
Gems, precious metals: $81.3 million
Organic chemicals: $79.3 million
Other chemical goods: $79.1 million
Paper: $75.1 million
Tanning, dyeing extracts: $48.5 million
Aircraft, spacecraft: $47.1 million
Iron or steel products: $41.6 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Singapore under the gems and precious metals product category via a 35.9% gain in revenue, then cereal or milk preparations (up 34.8%), paper (up 10.2%) and miscellaneous food preparations (up 7.5%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were aircraft and spacecraft (down -67.9%), machinery (down -25.7%), plastics (down -21.8%), tanning and dyeing extracts (down -20.5%), mineral fuels including oil (down -16.9%) and miscellaneous chemical goods (down -14.7%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Thailand

In 2020, Thailand’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $5 billion or 5.5% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -29.1% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 85.4% of Philippines’ imports from Thailand.

Vehicles: $1.5 billion
Machinery: $681.4 million
Electronic equipment: $628.6 million
Plastics: $361.2 million
Perfumes, cosmetics: $312.9 million
Other food preparations: $149.3 million
Beverages: $104.5 million
Sugar: $87 million
Copper: $83.1 million
Mineral fuels including oil: $74.9 million
Rubber: $71.2 million
Stone, plaster, cement: $69.5 million
Food waste, animal fodder: $62.4 million
Other manufactured products: $59.4 million
Other chemical goods: $57.9 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Thailand under the miscellaneous manufactured goods product category via a 33.8% gain in revenue, then food waste and animal fodder (up 31%), miscellaneous food preparations (up 17.4%) and perfumes or cosmetics (up 2.1%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were vehicles (down -45.7%), sugar (down -43.4%), rubber (down -27.1%), copper (down -25.7%), electronic equipment (down -20.6%) and plastics (down -19.1%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Taiwan

In 2020, Taiwan’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $4.8 billion or 5.3% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -1% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 94.3% of Philippines’ imports from Taiwan.

Electronic equipment: $3.2 billion
Machinery: $328.5 million
Medical, technical equipment: $148.5 million
Iron and steel: $142.9 million
Plastics: $136.6 million
Mineral fuels including oil: $114 million
Other chemical goods: $100.6 million
Iron or steel products: $96.9 million
Copper: $86.4 million
Organic chemicals: $47 million
Paper: $36.7 million
Felt, yarn, twine, cordage: $25.4 million
Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $22.4 million
Aluminum: $19.9 million
Man-made filaments: $19.8 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Taiwan under the mineral fuels including oil product category via a 202.7% gain in revenue, miscellaneous chemical goods (up 53.9%), products made from iron or steel (up 50.3%) then medical or technical equipment (up 10.4%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were salt, sulphur, stone and cement (down -53.3%), man-made filaments (down -29.8%), paper (down -29.2%), plastics as a material (down -22.7%), iron and steel as materials (down -22.4%) and aluminum (down -16.2%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Malaysia

In 2020, Malaysia’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $4 billion or 4.4% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -14.7% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 86.5% of Philippines’ imports from Malaysia.

Electronic equipment: $825.5 million
Mineral fuels including oil: $626.3 million
Animal/vegetable fats and oils: $516.4 million
Plastics: $273.2 million
Machinery: $266.6 million
Iron and steel: $218.5 million
Medical, technical equipment: $171.9 million
Cereal, milk preparations: $107.9 million
Other chemical goods: $103.6 million
Other food preparations: $88.2 million
Fertilizers: $76.7 million
Soaps, lubricants, candles: $55.3 million
Wood: $49.1 million
Cocoa, cocoa preparations: $47.9 million
Organic chemicals: $45.8 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Malaysia under the cereal or milk preparations product category via a 57.4% gain in revenue, miscellaneous chemical goods (up 53.1%), medical or technical equipment (up 32.2%), animal or vegetable fats and oils (up 21.6%), soaps, lubricants and candles (up 18%) then fertilizers (up 11.4%).

Posting the severest declines among the Philippines’ top 15 imported products were machinery (down -34.7%), wood (down -27.8%), mineral fuels including oil (down -27.2%), organic chemicals (down -22.6%), plastics (down -20%) and iron and steel (down -17.7%).

Philippines’ Main Imports from Vietnam

In 2020, Vietnam’s exports to the Philippines amounted to $3.1 billion or 3.4% of overall Filipino imports.

That dollar amount represents a -13.7% drop compared to 2019.

By value, the 15 major product categories listed below represent 85.3% of Philippines’ imports from Vietnam.

Cereals: $789.7 million
Electronic equipment: $526 million
Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $301.4 million
Iron and steel: $204.4 million
Machinery: $158.2 million
Other food preparations: $146.8 million
Coffee, tea, spices: $85 million
Mineral fuels including oil: $72.7 million
Plastics: $69.1 million
Footwear: $63.7 million
Vehicles: $56.6 million
Fish: $55.8 million
Furniture, lighting, signs: $52.8 million
Medical, technical equipment: $41.7 million
Soaps, lubricants, candles: $37.4 million

Fastest increases from 2019 to 2020 were for Filipino imports from Vietnam under the vehicles product category via a 57.5% gain in revenue, iron and steel (up 44.5%) then coffee, tea and spices (up 12.7%).

Posting the severest declines among Philippines’s top 15 imported products were fish (down -52.9%), mineral fuels including oil (down -48.3%), medical or technical equipment (down -45.7%), machinery (down -34.3%), furniture, lighting and signs (down -28.8%) then plastics as a material (down -23.6%).

References

Independent insights and analysis presented in this article are based on researched facts and statistics sourced from the following educational sources.

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Wikipedia, Philippines, Borders of the Philippines.

World’s Top Exports, Import News.

Philippines Main Imports by Top Supplier Countries