TOTAL TRADE IN 4-MONTH PERIOD REACHES $19.595 BILLION

The two-way trade for April 1998 reached $4.742 billion, which contracted by 5.6 percent from $5.025 billion last year. Aggregate earning from exports amounted to $2.285 billion which was up by 9.8 percent from $2.082 billion, while total payment for imports reached $2.457 billion which was 16.5 percent lower than the year-ago level of $2.942 billion. The BOT-G deficit amounted to $173 million, which was 79.9 percent lower than $860 million in 1997.

ELECTRONICS CORNER 23.5 PERCENT OF IMPORTS BILL

Shipments of Electronics and Components, still the top import with a 23.5 percent share, grew by 42.7 percent to $577.98 million from $405.10 million last year.

Accounting for 9.8 percent of the aggregate bill, payments for Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery dropped by 28.3 percent to $240.01 million from $334.95 million a year ago.

The third biggest import was Industrial Machinery and Equipment. Payments accounting for 7.9 percent of the total declined by 34.6 percent to $194.62 million from $297.42 million last year.

Imports of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials, with a 6.6 percent share, were valued at $162.47 million dropping by 13.3 percent from $187.47 million last year.

Office and EDP Machines, accounting for 6.0 percent of the total, emerged as the fifth top import with a value of $147.70 million which was 53.6 percent higher than $96.15 million last year.

Materials/Accessories Imported on Consignment Basis for the Manufacture of Other Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Equipment comprised the sixth top import. Accounting for 5.8 percent of the total bill, payments reached $143.32 million decreasing by 2.6 percent from $147.21 million in 1997.

Rounding-up the list of the top imports for April 1998 were: Textile Yarn, Fabrics, Made-up Articles and Related Products, $111.20 million; Iron and Steel, $70.15 million; Cereals and Cereal Preparations, $67.89 million; and Transport Equipment, $62.45 million.

Aggregate payment for the top ten imports for the month amounted to $1.778 billion, or 72.4 percent of the total.

CAPITAL GOODS ACCOUNT FOR 41.8 PERCENT

Payments for Capital Goods, which accounted for the biggest share of the import bill for the month at 41.8 percent, went down by 5.7 percent to $1,027.51 million from $1,090.0 million a year ago.

Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods accounted for 38.9 percent of the total imports even as purchases dropped by 24.0 percent to $956.35 million from $1,258.46 million last year.

Purchases of Consumer Goods valued at $209.31 million declined by 33.4 percent from $314.27 million in 1997.

Expenditures for Mineral Fuel and Lubricant contracted by 13.3 percent to $162.47 million while payments for Special Transactions grew by 10.4 percent to $101.41 million.

US BIGGEST SOURCE OF IMPORTED GOODS

Purchases of US-made goods accounted for 21.6 percent of the total imports for the month. Dipping slightly by 3.8 percent, payments were valued at $530.04 million, which was down from $551.05 million a year ago. Exports to the United States amounted to $780.50 million yielding a two-way trade figure of $1,310.54 million and a BOT-G surplus of $250.46 million.

Japan, the second biggest source of imports with a 21.0 percent share, reported sales valued at $516.62 million against purchases amounting to $321.90 million. Total trade reached $838.52 million and the BOT-G deficit stood at $194.72 million.

The third biggest source of imports for April was Republic of Korea. Expenditures for imports amounted to $173.77 million while revenue from exports reached $40.01 million resulting in a two-way trade value of $213.78 million and a $133.76 million BOT-G deficit.

Other major sources of imports for April 1998 were: Singapore, $149.05 million; Taiwan, $136.14 million; Hongkong, $100.07 million; Malaysia, $80.52 million; Germany, $78.63 million; China, $74.26 million; and, Thailand,$64.43 million.

Payments for imports from the top ten sources amounted to $1,903.53 million or 77.5 percent of the total.

UNCOLLECTED DOCUMENTS 
  
As of presstime 86 out of 41,928 export documents and 63 out of 49,812 import documents are still expected from the ports.