January to July total trade stands at $41.838 billion
Total external trade in goods for January to July 2003 amounted to $41.838 billion or 4.5 percent higher than $40.021 billion during the same period last year. The bill for foreign-made merchandise went up by 8.5 percent to $21.803 billion from $20.086 billion. Similarly, exports registered a year-on-year growth rate of 0.5 percent to an aggregate dollar revenue of $20.035 billion from $19.934 billion a year earlier. Balance of trade deficit for the Philippines reached $1.767 billion compared to last years value which stood at $152 million.
Figure 1A. Philippine Trade Performance in January July : 2002 and 2003
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)
Figure 1B. Philippine Trade Performance: July: 2002 and 2003
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)
July imports rose by 1.3 percent
Total merchandise trade for July 2003 fell by 3.3 percent to $6.199 billion from $6.413 billion during the same period in 2002. Dollar-inflow generated by exports amounted to $2.967 billion, or 7.9 percent lower than last years $3.223 billion. On the other hand, expenditures for imported goods climbed by 1.3 percent to $3.232 billion from $3.190 billion. The BOT-G deficit for the Philippines was registered at $265 million, compared to last years surplus figure at $33 million.
Electronic products account for 47.2 percent of import bill
Accounting for 47.2 percent of the total aggregate import bill, payments for electronic products amounted to $1.524 billion or 3.2 percent higher than last year's $1.477 billion. Compared to the previous month, dollar-outflow increased by 13.7 percent from $1.341 billion.
Purchases of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials ranked second with 9.2 percent share. Payments made at $297.77 million, recorded an 18.5 percent decline over the previous level which stood at $365.23 million.
Industrial machinery and equipment, the third top import reported purchases worth $142.08 million, or a 10.0 percent increase from $129.18 million last year.
Transport equipment accounting for 4.0 percent of the total import bill, ranked fourth as payments amounted to $127.60 million, up by 9.3 percent from last year's $116.69 million.
Expenditures for textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products, with a 2.9 percent share to the aggregate bill, dropped by 16.5 percent to $94.93 million from $113.68 million in July 2002.
Telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery, contributing 2.7 percent to the total bill, was RPs sixth top import for the month with payments placed at $86.49 million or 21.7 percent higher than last years $71.06 million.
Rounding up the list of the top imports for July 2003 were: plastics in primary and nonprimary forms, $71.12 million; iron and steel, $62.35 million; organic and inorganic chemical, $52.89 million; and cereals and cereal preparation, $49.26 million.
Aggregate payment for the countrys top ten imports for July 2003 amounted to $2.509 billion or 77.6 percent of the total bill.
Figure 2. Philippine Top Imports in July 2002 and 2003
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)
Capital goods account for 42.3 percent of the total import bill
Capital goods comprising 42.3 percent of the aggregate bill went up by 12.1 percent year-on-year to $1.367 billion from $1.219 billion. The group was led by telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery valued at $771.92 million or a 23.9 percent share of the total.
Payments for raw materials and intermediate goods consisting of unprocessed raw materials and semiprocessed raw materials accounted for 37.6 percent of the aggregate bill, as importation declined by 5.8 percent to $1.215 billion from last years reported figure at $1.290 billion.
Expenditures for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials decreased by 18.5 percent to $297.77 million from $365.22 million during the same period last year.
Purchases of consumer goods valued at $245.61 million, registered a 14.0 percent increase from $215.38 million in July 2002, while special transactions rose by 7.5 percent to $107.25 million from $99.78 million.
Figure 3. Philippine Imports by Major Type of Goods in July: 2002 and 2003
U.S. Corners 20.8 percent of july import bill
Imports from United States accounting for 20.8 percent of the total import bill, went up by 7.8 percent to $673.81 million from $624.97 million during the same period last year. Likewise, exports to US, amounted to $658.70 million yielding a two-way trade value of $1.332 billion and a trade deficit for RP placed at $15.12 million.
Japan, the countrys second biggest source of imports with a 20.3 percent share, reported shipments valued at $657.43 million against exports amounting to $462.96 million. Total trade amounted to $1.120 billion while the trade deficit for the Philippines was registered at $194.47 million.
Singapore, followed as RPs third biggest source of imports. With payments worth $204.06 million, imports from Singapore declined by 2.7 percent from $209.67 million while revenue from RPs exports reached $216.0 million resulting to a total trade value of $420.06 million and an $11.95 million surplus for RP.
Other major sources of imports for the month of July were: Republic of Korea, $163.94 million; Peoples Republic of China, $161.81 million; Taiwan, $156.54 million; Hong Kong, $133.54 million; Thailand, $124.51 million; Malaysia, $121.16 million; and United Arab Emirates, $96.12 million.
Payments for imports from the top ten sources for the month amounted to $2.493 billion or 77.1 percent of the total.
Figure 4. Philippine Imports by Country in July: 2003
As of press time 106 out of 64,107 export documents and 72 out of 73,576 import documents are still expected from the ports.
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
