DOMESTIC TRADE in goods came in at P561.14 billion in the third quarter of 2025, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
In its Commodity Flow in the Philippines report, the PSA, citing preliminary data, said the third-quarter total declined from the P996.16 billion posted a quarter earlier.
By volume, domestic trade hit 11.89 million tons, down from 17.77 million a quarter earlier.
Commodities traded by road amounted to P318.20 billion. This was followed by goods transported by water (P242.54 billion), and air (P402.15 million).
Domestic trade by value is the outflow value of commodities transported from the place of origin to the destination.
The PSA noted that domestic trade by volume and value in the third quarter was not comparable to the year-earlier data due to the inclusion of fresh road-transport system data starting in the first three months of 2025.
The decrease in domestic trade can be attributed to weaker-than-expected economic growth in the third quarter, Marco Antonio C. Agonia, an economist at the University of Asia and the Pacific, said in an e-mail.
“Households and businesses likely scaled back purchases and production following the government spending freeze due to the corruption scandal and weather disturbances, which both led to the downbeat Q3 (gross domestic product) reading,” he said.
The economy expanded 4% in the third quarter, decelerating from 5.5% growth in the three months to June and the 5.2% posed a year earlier.
Mr. Agonia noted that though trade flows mostly slowed, some regions posted outflow growth “which may be due to some agricultural harvests, stockpiling activity for the Q4 holiday season, and export-oriented interregional value chains picking up.”
He expects fourth quarter domestic trade to improve slightly.
“The Q4 holiday season likely encouraged households and businesses to ramp up activity, facilitating further domestic trade flows,” he said.
Across regions, the National Capital Region posted an outflow of P138.57 billion, accounting for 24.7% of total domestic trade.
The region also recorded the largest inflow value at P135.68 billion or 24.2% share.
Calabarzon accounted for 20.9% of domestic trade, with traded goods of P117.34 billion and inflow valued at P79.01 billion.
Central Luzon domestic trade came in at P79.80 billion, with inflows of P30.91 billion. The region accounted for 14.2% of domestic trade.
Central Luzon also posted the largest trade balance — the difference between outflow value and inflow value — with P48.89 billion. Calabarzon and Negros Island Region followed with P38.32 billion and P18.46 billion, respectively. — Isa Jane D. Acabal
