ASEAN Summit and international trade
The ASEAN Summit and Related Summit meetings of heads of state, presidents and prime ministers of some 20 countries, is fast approaching in two weeks to be held at the PICC in Manila.
In just two weeks, the ASEAN Summit will convene at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila, bringing together heads of state, presidents, and prime ministers from around 20 countries. President Marcos and his Cabinet officials, led by Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, are expected to focus on trade, commerce, investments, and artificial intelligence during the summit. Recto, known for his economic expertise, is likely to make these topics a priority on the important agenda.
Using data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) database, a comparison was made of average monthly merchandise exports from January to August of 2024, 2025, and 2026. The results show that China's exports have been on a steady rise, increasing from 291.1 billion US dollars in 2024 to 374.5 billion in 2026. This is more than double the combined exports of the US (205.2 billion), Mexico (68.7 billion), Canada (53.2 billion), Brazil (31.2 billion), and Chile (10.4 billion), which totaled 368.7 billion US dollars in 2026.
Hong Kong exports have also seen significant growth, jumping from 52.3 billion in 2024 to 89.1 billion in 2026, overtaking countries like Italy, France, South Korea, and Japan. South Korea's exports have surpassed the combined exports of Japan, Italy, France, and Canada, as well as the United Kingdom and Germany. Taiwan's exports have grown from 38.5 billion in 2024 to 71.8 billion in 2026, surpassing those of five G7 member countries.
Japan's exports have slowed down, being overtaken by its Asian neighbors - Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan - when these countries had lower exports just two years ago. Singapore's exports have also been on an upward trajectory, increasing from 41.6 billion in 2024 to 63.4 billion in 2026, overtaking countries like Italy, France, Belgium, and many others.
Vietnam's exports have risen from 33.2 billion in 2024 to 46.8 billion in 2026, surpassing Russia, Spain, and India. Malaysia's exports have similarly increased from 26.5 billion in 2024 to 42.3 billion in 2026, overtaking Russia, Spain, India, Poland, Australia, and Brazil.
Thailand has overtaken Australia and Brazil, with exports growing from 24.6 billion in 2024 to 33.3 billion in 2026, surpassing these countries. Five of the top 10 largest merchandise exporters in the world this year are Asian countries: China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, with Singapore expected to rank tenth by the end of 2026.
The Philippines has the smallest exports among the ASEAN-6 countries, with only 8.0 billion US dollars in 2026. Indonesia has 24.2 billion US dollars. The country's merchandise exports have grown from 55.1 billion in 2023 to 73.9 billion in 2026, with electronics comprising 60% of total exports. The US remains the largest market for Philippine exports, accounting for 20.2% of total exports in 2026, up from 15.5% in 2023.
Hong Kong and China are the second and third largest markets, together accounting for 26.8% of total exports.
Written by urgent.news from Philippine Star Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
