Table 2 shows the percentage of export amounts from the Philippines to major countries, while Chart 2 indicates the trend of Philippine exports by region. During the mid-1850s and the 1860s, the United States had 20-30% of total exports (except for 1861-1862), while Europe and Asia had 30-50% and 20-35% respectively. Among European countries, the United Kingdom had approximately 20-30% and Spain had 5-10%, while"China"(mostly Hongkong) had 20-35%, accounting for almost the total share of Asia.
From the 1870s to the 1890s, the percentage of the United States declined from 30-40% to 15-20%, but Europe and Asia kept almost the same level with some fluctuation. Among European countries, the United Kingdom had 25-40% (except for 1876-81 and 1886). In 1873-1887, the percentage of"British Asian colonies"(namely Hongkong and Singapore) increased to 10-30% and that of"China"went down to zero, then recovered to 15-30% in 1888-1899. From the discussion in the former section, it is assumed that Hongkong kept 10-20% or even 30% of the total exports of the Philippines during the period from the 1870s to the 1890s.
To sum up, the major customers for Philippine exports in the late 19th century were the United Kingdom, the United States, Hongkong and Spain. It should be pointed out that most export commodities such as Manila hemp or sugar were re-exported from Hongkong to the United Kingdom, the United States or China.
In the 20th century, exports to the United States rapidly increased. During the 1900s and 1910s the percentage share of exports to the United States jumped from 30-40% to 50-60%, while that of exports to European countries declined from 40-50% to 15-30%. Exports to the United Kingdom and Spain decreased in the above period and those to France declined from the end of the 1910s. On the other hand, exports to Asian countries were stable at 15-20% of the total except for 1910-1912.
During the 1920s and 1930s the United States remained the main destination for Philippine exports, whose percentage reached 70-80% or even more except for 1921-1922. Exports to Europe declined further from 10-15% in the 1920s to 10% in the 1930s. The United Kingdom, once the main country for Philippine exports held only a several percent share in the 1930s. The percentage shares of Asian countries also declined, reflecting the diminished share of Hongkong in the 1920s and the early 1930s. However, their share remained around 10% in the late 1930s due to the increased percentage of Japan.
From what has been mentioned above, it is concluded that the export structure of the Philippines in the first half of the 20th century shifted from the quadruple structure constituted by the United Kingdom, the United States, Hongkong and Spain to the structure in which the United States played the role of the predominant trade partner. It is noteworthy that the change of the export structure in this period also accompanied the secession of the Philippines from the Asian market which had been restructured under the influence of the United Kingdom. The coincidence of the decline of exports to both the United Kingdom and to Hongkong was very evident at the turn of the century.
Table 3 and Chart 3 show the changing pattern of the Philippine imports from 1855 to 1940. From the middle of the 1850s to the 1860s, the percentage of imports by major regions was 40-70% for Europe and 25-55% for Asia. The United States was the minor import country, whose percentage share was only several percent. In the mid-1850s the United Kingdom and Spain were the major trade partners in Europe, but in the 1860s the United Kingdom accounted for almost the total percentage of European countries. In Asian countries,"China"(mostly Hongkong) and Cochin-China (mostly rice imports) kept the dominant positions, while"British Asian colonies"(namely Singapore) was ranked third.
In the 1870s the percentage of European countries declined to 25-30%, but it recovered to 70% in some years in the early 1890s, due to the increased share of Spain. From the 1870s to the early 1890s, the percentage share of Asian countries drastically declined from 70% to 20%. The percentage of"China"(excluding Hongkong) went down to only several percent in 1874-1887 (except for 1876), while that of"British Asian colonies"(Hongkong and Singapore) remained at approximately 45-65% (except for 1884-1887). This indicates the fact that Hongkong dominated 20-50% of the total import of the Philippines from the 1870s to the 1890s.
To sum up, the major sources of imports in the late 19th century were the United Kingdom, Hongkong and Spain. The most important imported commodities in this period were cotton manufactures from those three countries (or areas). Particularly after the tariff revision of 1891, in order to avoid higher import tariffs, British cotton goods were carried by Spanish vessels to the Philippines via Barcelona or some other ports in Spain. The change of percentage shares of the United Kingdom, Hongkong and Spain in the total imports in this period should be understood in the context of the above import mechanism.
In the 20th century, particularly from the 1910s, imports from the United States increased drastically under the enactment of tariff acts in 1909 and 1913, which regulated the free trade arrangement between the United States and the Philippines. The percentage share of imports from the United States, approximately 10% in the 1900s, jumped to 40-60% in the 1910s and to 60-70% in the 1920s and the 1930s. The imports from Europe, around 30-40% in the 1900s, declined to less than 10% from the mid-1910s to the end of the 1930s. Asian countries had a share of 35-50% of the total imports in the 1900s, but the percentage decreased to 20-30% during the period between the 1910s and the mid-1930s and to 10% at the end of the 1930s. This rapid decline of the imports from Asian countries at the end of the 1930s was due to the drastic reduction of imports from Japan (mainly cotton goods) which had been at 10-15%.
Thus, the major exporters to the Philippines were the United Kingdom, Hongkong and Spain in the late 19th century, while the Philippines imported mostly from the United States and Asian countries (China and Japan) in the first half of the 20th century.