Electronics fuel import growth as recovery picks up

IMPORTS continued to grow in May as manufacturers cranked up production to meet the surging global demand for electronic products, data showed Tuesday.

Imports rose 31.4 percent to $4.75 billion from $3.61 billion last year, the National Statistics Office said.

May’s figure was 4.9 percent higher than the $4.53 billion imported in April. For the first five months of the year, merchandise imports reached $41.18 billion, a 36.9-percent increase from $30.09 billion in 2009.

Exports grew 38.7 percent in the same period to $19.16 billion, up from $13.82 billion in 2009. The higher import figure resulted in a trade deficit of $2.85 billion for the first five months of 2010.

Purchases of the country’s main import item, electronics, went up 17.7 percent in May to $1.53 billion from $1.29 billion a year ago. But that was much slower than the 63.9-percent increase recorded in April.

Electronics, which accounted for nearly a third of the total import bill, are used as inputs by the semiconductor and electronics industry, the country’s biggest export sector. Thge other top imports are fuel, electrical and industrial machinery, transport equipment, iron, steel and textiles. Raw materials and intermediate goods accounted for 36 percent of the total imports for the month, while capital goods accounted for nearly 22 percent. The strong growth in imports was in sync with the 18.7-percent rise in manufacturing production.

The Statistics Office said 16 of the 20 major sectors showed increases in production value, with petroleum products contributing the largest increase of 75.2 percent, followed by electrical machinery, transport equipment, machinery except electrical, paper and paper products, miscellaneous manufactures, wood and wood products, basic metal, leather products, beverages and rubber, and plastic products. Year-on-year, the volume of production index grew 25.5 percent in May.

Ten major sectors registered capacity utilization rates of 80 percent and more. The Bangko Sentral has raised import growth projections to 20 percent in 2010 from a previous estimate of 18 percent. It also raised export growth expectations to 15 percent from an original forecast of 12 percent. –Elaine R. Alanguilan, Manila Standard Today