Imports up as consumerism rises
Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
Manila Times
PHILIPPINE imports expanded at a bought more foreign-made products due to the rapid appreciation of peso, the government reported Tuesday.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) said imports rose 8.9 percent to $4.742 billion from $4.355 billion in September last year. In August, imports grew 1.8 percent.
The September performance brought to 4.4 percent the growth in imports in the first nine months of the year from $38.399 billion during the same period last year.
Due to the rise in imports, the country’s balance of trade in goods in September recorded a deficit of $370.00 million. This brought the deficit to $2.880 billion in the first nine months.
Electronics, which account for 49.5 percent of the total import bill, grew 3.4 percent over last year’s $2.271 billion. Among the major groups of electronic products, semiconductor components had the biggest share of 39.3 percent, growing 3.9 percent to $1.864 billion, but slipping 0.8 percent from the previous month.
The NSO attributed the decline to the importation of materials on consignment basis for the manufacture of semiconductor devices.
Despite the weak growth in electronics, imports of consumer goods helped lift the September import bill. Consumer goods rose 32.9 percent to $411.61 million from $309.75 million last year.
Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials comprised 13.4 percent of the total import bill, and surged 40.2 percent to $636.87 million over last year. “This is due to the high volume of importation on crude petroleum oil, gas oils and unleaded motor spirit,” the NSO said.
Transport equipment imports, however, dropped 8.5 percent to $203.83 million from last year’s $222.67 million.
Rounding up the list of the top imports for September were industrial machinery and equipment, $175.52 million; organic and inorganic chemicals, $104.11 million; plastics in primary and nonprimary forms, $88.42 million; textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products, $80.58 million; telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery, $79.71 million; cereals and cereal preparations, $67.56 million; and iron and steel, $66.20 million.
Aggregate payment for the country’s top 10 purchases abroad for September amounted to $3.851 billion or 81.2 percent of the total import bill.
The United States continued to be the top source of imports for September, despite a 3-percent decline to $660.11 million from last year.
Singapore followed as the Philippines purchased $348.70-million worth of goods, up by 70 percent from $348.70 million last year. Japan trailed with $580.60 million, down from $724.40 million last year.
Other major sources of imports were Taiwan, $386.23 million; People’s Republic of China, $325.11 million; Republic of Korea, $288.06 million; Saudi Arabia, $252.24 million; Malaysia, $229.93 million; Thailand, $215.44 million; and Hong Kong, $205.83 million.
Payments for imports from the top 10 sources for the month amounted to $3.736 billion or 78.8 percent of the total.
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