Imports signal rising production

THE government said imports reached a seven-month high in May, signaling more raw materials are being produced for export in the coming months.

The National Statistics Office said merchandise imports reached $3.617 billion that month, the highest since the $4.578 billion recorded in October.

The May figure was still 24.3 percent lower than the $4.776 billion recorded a year ago, but the rate of decrease was an improvement from the 37.4-percent year-on-year contraction in April.

“Month on month, [imports] expanded by 18.9 percent from [the] $3.042 billion recorded in April 2009,” the statistics office said.

Imports improved even as the Asian Development Bank said East Asia had entered the transition from recession to recovery.

“Emerging East Asia could see a V-shaped recovery, with growth dipping sharply in 2009 before regaining last year’s pace in 2010,” said Jong-Wha Lee, the bank’s chief economist.

“The stimulus measures adopted by governments across emerging East Asia since September 2008 have started to take effect.”

East Asia covers the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian nations plus China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taipei.

The NSO said that because imports were higher than exports in May, the Philippines recorded a trade deficit of $529 million that month.

It was earlier reported that exports dropped 26.9 percent to $3.088 billion.

The trade deficit in the five months to May 2009 reached $2.442 billion, which was smaller than the $3.147 billion recorded a year ago.

Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto said the trade figures in May pointed to a bottoming out of the global financial crisis.

He said that meant the gross domestic product for the second quarter could have improved from the 0.4-percent expansion in the first quarter.

“We see better times ahead,” Recto said.

“There are signs of bottoming out globally.” –Roderick T. dela Cruz, Manila Standard Today