TOTAL TRADE GROWS BY 8.7 PERCENT
Total trade in goods from January to March 2000 amounted to $16.483 billion which was higher by 8.7 percent over $15.165 billion last year. Imports for the first quarter of the year rose by 7.7 percent to $7.876 billion from $7.313 billion in 1999. On the other hand, exports posted a 9.6 percent year-on-year upswing with an aggregate revenue of $8.607 billion from $7.852 billion. The balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) surplus amounted to $732 million which was a 35.6 percent jump from $540 million in 1999.
Merchandise trade for the month of March 2000 alone grew by 6.9 percent to $5.730 billion from $5.359 billion a year ago. Rising exports amounted to $2.989 billion, which was a 10.6 percent increase from $2.702 billion last year, while expenditures for imported goods increased by 3.2 percent to $2.742 billion from $2.656 billion. The BOT-G surplus stood at $247 million.
ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS ACCOUNT FOR 22.1 PERCENT
Accounting for 22.1 percent of the aggregate import bill, payments for Electronics and Components amounted to $607.05 million which was 1.6 percent lower than $616.71 million last year.
Purchases of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials ranked second with a 12.8 percent share. Payments reached $352.08 million for a 106.2 percent increase over $170.71 million last year.
Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery emerged as the third top import with purchases reaching $243.80 million or a 20.8 percent growth from $201.73 million in 1999.
Industrial Machinery and Equipment, accounting for 6.5 percent of the total bill, ranked fourth as payments reached $177.93 million. This was down by 2.4 percent from $182.30 million last year.
Payments for Materials/Accessories Imported on Consignment Basis for the Manufacture of Other Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Equipment combined for a 4.1 percent share of the aggregate bill. However this fell by 30.0 percent to $113.28 million from $161.94 million.
Office and EDP Machines, accounting for 4.0 percent of the total, was sixth top import for the month with a combined value of $108.75 million or 10.6 percent lower than $121.71 million a year ago.
Rounding up the list of the top imports for March 2000 were Textile Yarn, Fabrics, Made-up Articles and Related Products, $103.04 million; Transport Equipment, $93.39 million; Iron and Steel, $82.75 million; and Plastics in Primary and Non-Primary Forms, $63.11 million.
Aggregate payment for the top ten imports for March 2000 amounted to $1.945 billion or 70.9 percent of the total bill.
CAPITAL GOODS ACCOUNT FOR 39.3 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL IMPORT BILL
Capital Goods led by Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery, accounted for 39.3 percent of the aggregate bill as importation grew by 10.9 percent to $1.076 billion from $970.691 million in March 1999.
Payments for Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods consisting of unprocessed and semi-processed raw materials fell by 10.8 percent year-on-year to $1.012 billion from $1.134 billion. The group has a share of 36.9 percent of the aggregate bill.
Purchases of Mineral Fuel & Lubricant valued at $352.08 million registered a 106.2 percent increase from $170.71 million last year.
Expenditures for Consumer Goods and Special Transactions amounted to $229.21 million and $72.28 million, respectively.
UNITED STATES TOP SOURCE OF IMPORTS FOR MARCH
Purchases of US-made goods accounted for 17.7 percent of the total but fell by 13.3 percent to $486.20 million from $560.92 million a year ago. Exports to the US on the other hand amounted to $877.61 million yielding a two-way trade figure of $1.364 billion and a BOT-G surplus placed at $391.41 million.
Japan, the second biggest source of imports with a 16.9 percent share, reported shipments of $464.50 million against purchases amounting to $435.09 million. Total trade reached $899.59 million while a BOT-G deficit stood at $29.41 million.
Republic of Korea followed as the third biggest source of imports. Imports increased by 45.3 percent to $292.64 million while revenue from exports reached $114.08 million resulting to a total trade value of $406.72 million and a $178.56 million BOT-G deficit.
Other major sources of imports for the month were Singapore, $204.53 million; Taiwan, $144.48; Saudi Arabia, $102.22 million; Hongkong, $99.91 million; Malaysia, $93.20 million; Peoples Republic of China, $80.25 million; and Australia, $78.64 million.
Payment for imports from the top ten sources for the month amounted to $2.046 billion or 74.6 percent of the total.
UNCOLLECTED DOCUMENTS
As of press time 82 out of 58,879 export documents and 104 out of 57,656 import documents are still expected from the ports.
Source: National Statistics Office
Manila, Philippines
