JANUARY TO FEBRUARY TOTAL TRADE STANDS AT $10.359 BILLION

Total external trade in goods for January to February 2001 amounted to $10.359 billion that was 3.7 percent lower than $10.753 billion in 2000. Payments for foreign-made merchandise fell by 9.1 percent to $4.665 billion from $5.134 billion. On the other hand, exports posted a 1.3 percent year-on-year uptick with an aggregate revenue of $5.694 billion that was up from $5.619 billion in 2000. A balance of trade (BOT-G) surplus amounted to $1.030 billion or a 112.5 percent jump from $485 million in 2000.

Fig. 1A. Philippine Trade Performance in January - February : 2000 & 2001
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

Fig. 1B. Philippine Trade Performance in February : 2000 & 2001
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

FEBRUARY IMPORTS FALL BY 11.7 PERCENT

Total merchandise trade for February 2001 dropped by 7.2 percent to $4.999 billion from $5.386 billion in 2000. Dollar-inflows generated by exports amounted to $2.805 billion, or a 3.3 percent drop from $2.902 billion last year, while expenditures for imported goods shrank by 11.7 percent to $2.193 billion from $2.483 billion. A BOT-G surplus stood at $612 million.

ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS ACCOUNT FOR 16.7 PERCENT OF IMPORT BILL

Accounting for 16.7 percent of the aggregate import bill, payments forElectronics and Components amounted to $366.52 million in February 2001 or 45.2 percent lower than $668.73 million last year. Compared to January 2001, dollar-outflows declined by 22.9 percent from $475.29 million.

Purchases of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materialsranked second with a 13.0 percent share. Payments made reached $284.69 million for a 12.8 percent increase over $252.29 million last year.

Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery, the third top import, reported purchases worth $250.26 million, or a 22.1 percent increase from $205.02 million a year ago.

Office and EDP Machines, accounting for.7.8 percent of the total bill, ranked fourth as payments reached $170.46 million, up by 58.8 percent from $107.36 million last year.

Payments for Industrial Machinery and Equipment combined for a 5.9 percent share of the aggregate bill, but fell by 21.5 percent to $130.23 million from $165.94 million last year.

Transport Equipment accounting for 3.8 percent of the total bill was the sixth top import with payments worth $82.50 million that was 14.8 percent higher than the $71.86 million in 2000.

Rounding up the list of the top imports for February 2001 wereMaterials/Accessories Imported on Consignment Basis for the Manufacture of Other Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Equipment, $75.79 million; Textile Yarn, Fabrics, Made-up Articles and Related Products, $65.33 million; Cereals and Cereal Preparations, $64.21 million; and Organic and Inorganic Chemicals, $58.35 million.

Aggregate payment for the top ten imports for February 2001 amounted to $1.548 billion or 70.6 percent of the total bill.

Fig. 2. Philippine Top Imports in February : 2000 & 2001
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

CAPITAL GOODS ACCOUNT FOR 39.6 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL IMPORT BILL

Capital Goods led by Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery, accounted for 39.6 percent of the aggregate bill as importation declined by 14.9 percent to $869.34 million from $1.022 billion in 2000.

Payments for Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods consisting of unprocessed and semi-processed raw materials fell by 18.5 percent year-on-year to $781.13 million from $958.82 million. The group share of the aggregate bill was placed at 35.6 percent.

Purchases of Mineral Fuel & Lubricant valued at $284.69 million registered a 12.8 percent increase from $252.29 million.

Expenditures for Consumer Goods increased by 1.6 percent to $187.27 million while Special Transactions rose by 6.9 percent to $70.73 million.

Fig. 3. Philippine Imports by Major Type of Goods in February: 2000 & 2001
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

JAPAN CORNERS 20.7 PERCENT OF FEBRUARY IMPORT BILL

Purchases of Japanese-made goods accounted for 20.7 percent of the total import bill, but fell by 11.7 percent to $454.06 million from $514.00 million a year back. Exports to Japan on the other hand amounted to $488.04 million yielding a two-way trade figure of $942.10 million and a trade surplus placed at $33.98 million.

US, the second biggest source of imports with a 17.8 percent share, reported shipments valued at $390.83 million against purchases amounting to $761.26 million. Total trade reached $1.152.09 billion while a trade surplus stood at $370.43 million.

Republic of Korea followed as the third biggest source of imports. With payments worth $146.52 million, imports from the Republic of Korea decreased by 18.9 percent from $200.55 million while revenue from RP exports reached $61.50 million resulting to a total trade value of $208.02 million and a $85.02 million BOT-G deficit for RP.

Other major sources of imports were Taiwan, $145.34 million;Singapore, $144.64 million; United Arab Emirates, $86.40 million;Malaysia, $83.38 million; Hongkong, $74.54 million; Iran, $70.63 million; and Germany, $63.74 million.

Payment for imports from the top ten sources for the month amounted to $1.660 billion or 75.7 percent of the total.

Fig. 4. Philippine Imports by Country in February: 2001

UNCOLLECTED DOCUMENTS

As of press time 65 out of 52,941 export documents and 89 out of44,289 import documents are still expected from the ports.

Source: National Statistics Office
            Manila, Philippines
 
Page Last Updated: April 18, 2001