January to June total trade stands at $35.639 billion
Total external trade in goods for January to June 2003 amounted to $35.639 billion or 6.0 percent higher than $33.608 billion during the same period last year. The bill for foreign-made merchandise rose by 9.9 percent to $18.571 billion from $16.896 billion. Likewise, exports registered a year-on-year growth rate of 2.1 percent to an aggregate dollar revenue of $17.069 billion from $16.712 billion a year earlier. Balance of trade deficit for the Philippines reached $1.502 billion compared to last years value which stood at $185 million.
Figure 1A. Philippine Trade Performance in January June : 2002 and 2003
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)
Figure 1B. Philippine Trade Performance: June: 2002 and 2003
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)
June imports declined by 3.3 percent
Total merchandise trade for June 2003 grew by 0.4 percent to $5.982 billion from $5.959 billion during the same period in 2002. Dollar-inflow generated by exports amounted to $3.061 billion, or 4.2 percent higher than last years $2.936 billion. On the other hand, expenditures for imported goods dropped by 3.3 percent to $2.922 billion from $3.022 billion. The BOT-G surplus for the Philippines was registered at $139 million, compared to last years deficit at $86 million.
Electronic products account for 45.9 percent of import bill
Accounting for 45.9 percent of the total aggregate import bill, payments for electronic products amounted to $1.340 billion or 4.3 percent lower than last year's $1.401 billion. Compared to the previous month, dollar-outflow decreased by 12.2 percent from $1.527 billion.
Purchases of mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials ranked second with 8.1 percent share. Payments made at $236.02 million, recorded an 18.7 percent decline over the previous level which stood at $290.15 million.
Transport equipment, the third top import reported purchases worth $131.42 million, or a 27.4 percent increase from $103.19 million last year.
Industrial machinery and equipment accounting for 4.2 percent of the total import bill, ranked fourth as payments amounted to $121.17 million, down by 9.8 percent from last year's $134.27 million.
Expenditures for textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related products, with a 3.6 percent share to the aggregate bill, fell by 3.8 percent to $105.11 million from $109.26 million in June 2002.
Telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery, contributing 2.5 percent to the total bill, was RPs sixth top import for the month with payments placed at $72.90 million or 12.8 percent higher than last years $64.61 million.
Rounding up the list of the top imports for June 2003 were: plastics in primary and nonprimary forms, $65.18 million; cereals and cereal preparation, $59.52 million;iron and steel, $54.28 million; and organic and inorganic chemical, $53.94 million.
Aggregate payment for the countrys top ten imports for June 2003 amounted to $2.240 billion or 76.7 percent of the total bill.
Figure 2. Philippine Top Imports in June 2002 and 2003
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)
Raw materials and intermediate goods account for 41.2 percent of the total import bill
Payments for raw materials and intermediate goods consisting of unprocessed raw materials and semiprocessed raw materials accounted for 41.2 percent of the aggregate bill as importation declined by 6.9 percent to $1.202 billion from last years figure at $1.291 billion.
Capital goods comprising 39.3 percent of the aggregate bill increased by 2.8 percent year-on-year to $1.148 billion from $1.117 billion. The group was led bytelecommunication equipment and electrical machinery valued at $611.48 million or a 20.9 percent share of the total.
Expenditures for mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials went down by 18.7 percent to $236.02 million from $290.15 million during the same period last year.
Purchases of Consumer goods valued at $229.57 million, registered a 3.4 percent increase from $222.10 million in June 2002, while special transactions rose by 3.2 percent to $105.22 million from $101.93 million.
Figure 3. Philippine Imports by Major Type of Goods in June: 2002 and 2003
Japan corners 21.6 percent of June import bill
Imports from Japan accounting for 21.6 percent of the total import bill, increased by 5.6 percent to $629.73 million from $596.44 million during the same period of 2002. Similarly, exports to Japan, amounted to $466.55 million yielding a two-way trade value of $1.096 billion and a trade deficit for RP placed at $163.18 million.
US, the countrys second biggest source of imports with an 18.6 percent share, reported shipments valued at $543.18 million against exports amounting to $706.42 million. Total trade amounted to $1.250 billion while the trade surplus for the Philippines was registered at $163.23 million.
Republic of Korea, followed as RPs third biggest source of imports. With payments worth $215.71 million, imports from Korea went down by 14.0 percent from $250.97 million while revenue from RPs exports reached $109.96 million resulting to a total trade value of $325.68 million and a $105.75 million deficit for RP.
Other major sources of imports for the month of June were: Singapore, $191.81 million;Peoples Republic of China, $148.92 million; Hong Kong, $132.51 million; Taiwan, $132.22 million; Saudi Arabia, $113.51 million; Malaysia, $110.68 million; andThailand, $108.72 million.
Payments for imports from the top ten sources for the month amounted to $2.327 billion or 79.6 percent of the total.
Figure 4. Philippine Imports by Country in June: 2003
As of press time 94 out of 64,917 export documents and 78 out of 70,613 import documents are still expected from the ports.
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
