TOTAL TRADE $ 59.156 BILLION IN 1998

Total merchandise imports for 1998 dipped by 17.5 percent to $29.660 billion from $35.934 billion a year earlier. Nonetheless foreign exchange inflows from merchandise exports valued at $29.496 billion posted a 16.9 percent increase from $25.228 billion last year. Total trade settled at $59.156 billion which was 3.3 percent below $61.162 billion in 1997. The cumulated BOT-G deficit of $164.0 million was the lowest in 26 years.

For December 1998, total trade amounted to $4.585 billion which was 8.7 percent lower than $5.023 billion last year. While total receipts from exports rose by 13.1 percent to $2.523 billion from $2.231 billion last year, payments for imports declined by 26.2 percent to $2.062 billion from $2.793 billion in 1997. Thus, the BOT-G was in surplus amounting to $461.0 million, a reversal from the December 1997 deficit of $562.0 million.

ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS 19.8 PERCENT OF TOTAL IMPORTS

Electronics and Components valued at $408.03 million were the top imports for December accounting for a 19.8 percent share. However, compared to last year, importation slowed down by 24.6 percent from $541.28 million. The November 1998 value was likewise higher at $558.91 million.

Telecommunications Equipment and Electrical Machinery ranked second with purchases of $199.63 million or 26.3 percent lower than $270.83 million a year ago. The group share of the aggregate bill stood at 9.7 percent.

Materials/Accessories Imported on Consignment Basis for the Manufacture of Other Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Equipmentcomprised the third top import. Accounting for 8.6 percent of the total bill, payments reached $177.99 million, which was lower by 19.8 percent from $221.98 million in 1997.

The fourth top import consisted of Industrial Machinery and Equipment.Payments accounting for 6.9 percent of the total dropped by 46.8 percent to $141.60 million from $266.37 million a year earlier.

Payments for Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials had a 6.1 percent share and a value of $124.74 million, falling by 47.0 percent from $235.24 million last year.

Office and EDP Machines, which accounted for 5.3 percent of the total, came out as the sixth top import with a value of $108.92 million. This was 24.8 percent lower than $144.93 million last year.

Rounding up the list of the top 10 imports for the month were Textile Yarn, Fabrics, Made-up Articles and Related Products, $73.24 million; Cereals and Cereal Preparations, $71.03 million; Transport Equipment, $56.62 million; and Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles, $51.35 million.

Aggregate payment for the top ten imports for December 1998 amounted to $1.413 billion, or 68.5 percent of the total.

RAW MATERIALS ACCOUNT FOR 41.9 PERCENT OF IMPORT BILL

With a 41.9 percent share, payments for Raw Materials & Intermediate Goods amounting to $864.16 million accounted for the biggest slice of the import bill for the month. However, this dropped by 17.1 percent from $1.043 billion compared to 1997.

Accounting for 37.9 percent, Capital Goods comprised the second top purchase with an aggregate payment of $780.49 million, though this was 34.1 percent lower than $1.185 billion a year ago.

Purchases of Consumer Goods valued at $213.89 million fell by 3.0 percent from $220.53 million in December 1997.

Expenditures for Mineral Fuel and Lubricant fell by 47.2 percent to $124.74 million while payments for Special Transactions also dropped by 28.4 percent to $78.32 million.

US & JAPAN IMPORTS 41.5 PERCENT OF TOTAL

Purchases of US-made goods accounted for 21.4 percent of the aggregate import bill. Payments reached $442.06 million which was 23.6 percent lower than $578.74 million last year. On the other hand, exports to the US amounted to $815.42 million yielding a two-way trade figure of $1.257 billion and a BOT-G surplus of $373.36 million.

Japan, the second biggest source of imports with a 20 percent share, reported shipments (imports) valued at $413.45 million against purchases (exports) amounting to $308.14 million. Total trade reached $721.59 million and the BOT-G deficit stood at $105.31 million.

The third biggest source of imports for the month was Republic of Korea. Imports amounted to $155.30 million while exports reached $46.19 million resulting in a two-way trade value of $201.49 million and a $109.11 million BOT-G deficit.

Other major sources of imports for December 1998 were People�s Republic of China, $121.08 million; Singapore, $105.38 million; Hongkong, $95.28;Taiwan, $89.44 million; Thailand, $59.72 million; Germany, $56.40; andIndonesia, $54.34 million.

Payments for imports from the top ten sources amounted to $1.592 billion or 77.2 percent of the total.

UNCOLLECTED DOCUMENTS

As of press time 33 out of 44,191 export documents and 27 out of 46,378import documents are still expected from the ports.