The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that in the fourth quarter of 2024, the total volume of domestic trade amounted to 6.23 million tons, reflecting a significant annual decline of 25.9% from the 8.41 million tons recorded in the same quarter of 2023. This follows a smaller decline of 5.8% in the third quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, the fourth quarter of 2023 saw a notable 33.4% year-on-year increase in trade volume.
A dominant share of commodities—99.9%—were transported via water (coastwise), with the remainder moved by air.
Trade by Commodity Section
In terms of commodity breakdown, mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials led the domestic trade in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 1.48 million tons, or 23.8% of the total trade volume. This was closely followed by food and live animals at 1.44 million tons (23.1%), and commodities not classified elsewhere at 0.99 million tons.
Trade by Region
Regionally, the National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the highest volume of domestic trade, with 2.02 million tons, representing 32.4% of the national total. It was followed by Central Luzon (Region III) at 1.59 million tons (25.4%) and Bicol Region (Region V) at 0.97 million tons (15.6%).
Value of Domestic Trade
The value of domestic trade in the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at PHP 246.22 billion, showing a 24.6% decrease from the PHP 326.56 billion recorded in the same quarter of 2023.
As with the quantity, most of the domestic trade value (99.9%) was attributed to coastwise transportation, with the remainder moved by air.
Top Traded Commodities by Value
Food and live animals topped the list of traded commodities by value, with PHP 72.07 billion, or 29.3% of the total value. This was followed by machinery and transport equipment, valued at PHP 47.48 billion (19.3%), and manufactured goods classified chiefly by material, valued at PHP 45.15 billion.
Regional Breakdown of Trade Value
Regionally, NCR again led in terms of trade value, with PHP 131.31 billion, representing 53.3% of the total. Northern Mindanao (Region X) followed with PHP 31.55 billion (12.8%), and Western Visayas (Region VI) recorded PHP 23.76 billion (9.6%) in traded commodities.
In summary, while domestic trade in the fourth quarter of 2024 showed a decline in both quantity and value compared to 2023, certain regions and commodities continued to dominate the trade landscape.
