MANILA — Philippine merchandise exports in May grew 29.8% from a year earlier, marking the third straight month of double-digit growth, but imports grew faster at 47.7%, government data on Friday showed.
Exports in May were valued at $5.89 billion, while imports totaled $8.65 billion, yielding a trade deficit of $2.76 billion, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
—Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales and Enrico Dela Cruz Editing by Ed Davies