JANUARY TO MARCH TOTAL TRADE STANDS AT $15.192 BILLION

Total external trade in goods for January to March 2002 amounted to $15.192 billion or 4.1 percent lower than $15.836 billion in 2001. The bill for foreign-made merchandise declined by 2.6 percent to $7.084 billion from $7.272 billion. On the other hand, exports posted a 5.3 percent year-on-year decrease to an aggregate dollar revenue of $8.108 billion from $8.564 billion a year earlier. Balance of trade surplus for the Philippines amounted to $1.024 billion or 20.7 percent lower than last year's $1.292 billion.

Fig. 1A.Philippine Trade Performance in January - March : 2001 & 2002
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

Fig. 1B. Philippine Trade Performance in March : 2001 & 2002
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

MARCH IMPORTS INCREASED BY 10.0 PERCENT

Total merchandise trade for March 2002 went up by 4.4 percent to $5.716 billion from $5.477 billion during the same period a year earlier. Dollar-inflow generated by exports amounted to $2.849 billion, or a 0.7 percent reduction from last year's $2.870 billion. Meanwhile, expenditures for imported goods increased by 10.0 percent to $2.867 billion from $2.607 billion The BOT-G deficit recorded at $18 million, or a 106.8 percent drop over last year's $262 million.

ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS ACCOUNT FOR 29.6 PERCENT OF IMPORT BILL

Accounting for 29.6 percent of the total aggregate import bill, payments for Electronics and Components amounted to $849.67 million or 88.9 percent higher than last year's $449.70 million. Compared to the previous month, dollar-outflow increased by 60.3 percent from $529.91 million.

Purchases of Office and EDP Machines ranked second with a 10.5 percent share. Payments made reached $301.48 million for a 75.7 percent increase over last year's $171.61 million.

Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery, the third top import reported purchases worth $240.44 million, or a 3.2 percent decline from $248.42 million last year.

Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials accounting for 8.1 percent of the total bill, ranked fourth as payments reached $231.98 million, lower by 15.1 percent from last year's $273.38 million.

Expenditures for Industrial Machinery and Equipment, contributing 4.1 percent share to the aggregate bill, dropped by 27.7 percent to $117.69 million from $162.83 million.

Materials/Accessories Imported on Consignment Basis for the Manufacture of Other Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Equipment accounting for 3.6 percent of the total bill, was RP's sixth top import for the month with payments worth $103.49 million or 10.4 percent lower than last year's $115.55 million.

Rounding up the list of the top imports for March 2002 were: Textile Yarn, Fabrics, Made-up Articles and Related Products, $78.09 million; Iron and Steel, $76.40 million; Transport Equipment, $74.89 million; Plastics in Primary and Non-Primary Forms, $52.28 million.

Aggregate payment for the country's top ten imports for March 2002 amounted to $2.126 billion or 74.2 percent of the total bill.

Fig. 2. Philippine Top Imports in March 2001 & 2002
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

CAPITAL GOODS ACCOUNT FOR 42.1 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL IMPORT BILL

Capital Goods accounting for 42.1 percent of the aggregate bill rose by 25.5 percent year-on-year to $1.207 billion from $961.91 million. The group was led by Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery valued at $684.40 million or a 23.9 percent share of the total.

Payments for Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods consisting of unprocessed raw materials and semi-processed raw materials accounted for 39.4 percent of the aggregate bill as importation went up by 2.0 percent to $1.128 billion from $1.106 billion.

Purchases of Mineral Fuel & Lubricant valued at $231.98 million, registered a 15.1 percent decrease from $273.38 million.

Expenditures for Consumer Goods declined by 9.5 percent to $184.53 million from $203.85 million, while Special Transactions increased by 86.5 percent to $115.30 million from $61.82 million.

Fig. 3. Philippine Imports by Major Type of Goods in March: 2001 & 2002
(F.O.B. Value in Million US Dollar)

JAPAN CORNERS 22.0 PERCENT OF MARCH IMPORT BILL

Purchases of Japanese made goods, accounting for 22.0 percent of the total import bill, increased by 18.5 percent to $631.29 million from $532.58 million a year earlier. Exports to Japan, on the other hand amounted to $433.08 million yielding a two-way trade figure of $1.064 billion and a trade deficit for RP placed at $198.21 million.

US, the country's second biggest source of imports with a 20.8 percent share, reported shipments valued at $595.24 million against exports amounting to $714.22 million. Total trade reached $1.309 billion while trade surplus for the Philippines stood at $118.97 million.

Republic of Korea followed as RP's third biggest source of imports. With payments worth $259.80 million, imports from Korea went up by 70.2 percent from $152.62 million while revenue from RP's exports reached $133.68 million resulting to a total trade value of $393.48 million and a $126.13 million deficit for RP.

Other major sources of imports for the month were: ; Singapore, $188.14 million; Taiwan, $151.63 million; Hongkong, $127.41 million; Malaysia, $117.70 million; People's Republic of China, $87.92 million; Thailand, $77.20 million; and Indonesia, $58.92 million.

Payment for imports from the top ten sources for the month amounted to $2.295 billion or 80.1 percent of the total.

Fig. 4. Philippine Imports by Country in March: 2002

UNCOLLECTED DOCUMENTS

As of press time 61 out of 59,639 export documents and 78 out of 62,909 import documents are still expected from the ports.

Source: National Statistics Office
              Manila, Philippines