Imports rise 2% to $66.7 B in 2015

Despite 26% drop in December

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine imports went down nearly 26 percent to $4.06 billion in December , the first drop in seven months, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported yesterday.

Despite the drop in December, total imports managed to rise two percent to $66.7 billion for the whole of 2015 from the 2014 level.

Electronic imports, which accounted for 31.6 percent of the country’s total components or semiconductors which comprise 22.8 percent of total electronic shipments, fell 39.8 percent from a year earlier.

Minerals fuels, lubricants and related materials, which accounted for 16 percent of total imports in December and was the second biggest import item, declined 14.1 percent from a year ago.

Transport equipment, accounting for 8.4 percent of total imports in December and the third biggest import item, fell 3.3 percent from last year while industrial machinery and equipment, which ranked fourth, dropped an annual 3.2 percent.

China is still the country’s largest source of imports in December 2015, cornering 17 percent of total shipments during the period. Payments totaled $687.5 million, albeit lower by 13.7 percent year-on-year.

The Philippines still has a trade deficit of $265.60 million with China as revenue from the country’s exports reached only $422.15 million.

Imported goods from Japan made up 11.9 percent of the total import bill for December valued at $481.57 million, up 4.9 percent year-on-year.

Export receipts from Japan reached, $939 million, resulting in a trade surplus of $457.60 million.

The US including Alaska and Hawaii was the third largest source of imports in December 2015 with a 10.3 percent share to the total import bill valued at $414.05 million. This was lower by 20.6 percent year-on-year. Exports to the US amounted to $697.33 million, resulting to a trade surplus of $280.28 million.

Other major sources of imports for December 2015 were: Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The central bank said an improving global economy should boost Philippine exports by five percent this year, while imports would grow 10 percent.

The country had a trade surplus of $603 million in December, bringing the full-year trade deficit to $8.04 billion, compared with a deficit of $3.3 billion the year before.

The central bank expects the country to post a $5.7 billion current account surplus this year, from a projected surplus of $8.9 billion last year. –Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star)