The Philippines’ trade deficit, which reached a record high in June, is likely to increase due to the increase in imports, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

In a press briefing Tuesday, Socioeconomic Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said: “I think, given that where we are coming from, that is expected that trade deficit is likely to grow...especially to the extent that imports are in the form of energy and food.”

Balisacan said the trade deficit is not a cause for concern since these investments will boost the competitiveness of industries.

“We would expect trade deficits to continue and to increase but again, the expectation is these investments that we are putting in place the improvement in transport, in connectivity, in tower facilities, will improve the competitiveness of our industries particularly the exports,” Balisacan said.

In June, the trade deficit amounted to $5.84 billion or a 75.4 percent yearly increase, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed.

Large imports in the construction sector are also expected, he said.

“We are also likely to see large importations for construction because we are ramping up and continuing our rapid growth in construction spending, capital formation,” Balisacan said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS