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Philippines faces trade imbalance as apparel imports rise

The Philippines exported $***.*** million worth of apparel and imported $***.*** million during the first four months of the previous year. In ****, total apparel exports amounted to $***.*** million, while imports were valued at $*** million, according to Fibre2Fashion&#**;s market insight tool TexPro.

A closer analysis of the trade basket reveals that shirts dominated the export sector, with outbound shipments valued at $**.*** million, accounting for **.** per cent of total exports in the first four months of ****. Other notable exports included dresses ($**.*** million or **.** per cent), trousers and shorts ($**.*** million or **.** per cent), innerwear ($**.*** million or *.** per cent), and accessories ($**.*** million or *.** per cent).