TACLOBAN CITY — Eastern Visayas has suffered the weakest external trading in recent years, much slower than total exports and imports recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Philippine Statistics Authority regional office, in a report released on Thursday, said Eastern Visayas posted a total external trade of $37.70 million in October 2025 or a decrease of 92.1 percent from the$475.19 million posted in October 2024.

PASAR closure

The slump is attributed to the closure of Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining (PASAR) Corp., the country’s only copper smelter and refinery, which had employed over 3,000 workers.

PASAR used to account for around two-thirds of Eastern Visayas’ export and import receipts with copper and copper articles that were processed from its plants as top exports.

The company had processed copper concentrates from various mines, including those in the Philippines, Australia, and Indonesia.

Unfavorable market conditions

PASAR’s owner, Glencore put the company’s operations under “care and maintenance” in February 2025 due to unfavorable global market conditions and low processing fees, eventually leading to its shutdown.

At the height of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic, PASAR operations kept the external trade of the region afloat with exports amounting to $285.96 million in March 2020, or over seven times higher than the combined total export and imports in October 2025.

According to the PSA report, the total value of exports of Eastern Visayas fell by 89.1%, dropping from $217.87 million in October 2024 to $23.80 million in October 2025.

Similarly, the total value of imports dropped by 94.6 percent, from $257.32 million in October 2024 to $13.90 million in October 2025.