JANUARY TO MAY TOTAL TRADE STANDS AT $26.842 BILLION

Total external trade in goods for January to May 2002 amounted to $26.842 billion or 3.0 percent higher than $26.055 billion in 2001. The bill for foreign-made merchandise increased by 3.3 percent to $13.067 billion from $12.646 billion. Likewise, exports posted a 2.7 percent year-on-year increase to an aggregate dollar revenue of $13.774 billion from $13.410 billion a year earlier. Balance of trade surplus for the Philippines amounted to $707 million or 7.5 percent lower than last year's $764 million.

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

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

MAY IMPORTS INCREASE BY 2.9 PERCENT

Total merchandise trade for May 2002 went up by 7.5 percent to $5.677 billion from $5.281 billion during the same period last year. Dollar-inflow generated by exports amounted to $2.917 billion, or a 12.2 percent increase from last year's $2.6 billion. On the other hand, expenditures for imported goods increased by 2.9 percent to $2.760 billion from $2.681 billion The BOT-G surplus was recorded at $158 million, or a 295.1 percent reversal over last year's deficit placed at $81 million.

ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS ACCOUNT FOR 28.2 PERCENT OF IMPORT BILL

Accounting for 28.2 percent of the total aggregate import bill, payments for Electronics and Components amounted to $779.22 million or 38.0 percent higher than last year's $564.82 million. Compared to the previous month, dollar-outflow fell by 18.7 percent from $958.20 million.

Purchases of Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials ranked second with a 10.2 percent share. Payments made reached $282.20 million for a 2.9 percent increase over last year's $274.15 million.

Office and EDP Machines, the third top import reported purchases worth $257.49 million, or an 47.1 percent increase from $175.07 million last year.

Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery Machinery accounting for 6.6 percent of the total bill, ranked fourth as payments reached $181.87 million, lower by 36.6 percent from last year's $286.77 million.

Expenditures for Industrial Machinery and Equipment, contributing 4.0 percent share to the aggregate bill, dropped by 16.6 percent to $110.65 million from $132.62 million in May 2002.

Textile Yarn, Fabrics, Made-up Articles and Related Products, accounting for 3.9 percent of the total bill, was RP's sixth top import for the month with payments worth $107.40 million or 3.8 percent lower than last year's $111.65 million.

Rounding up the list of the top imports for May 2002 were: Materials/Accessories Imported on Consignment Basis for the Manufacture of Other Electrical and Electronic Machinery and Equipment, $82.21 million; Iron and Steel, $77.46 million; Transport Equipment, $73.70 million; and Plastics in Primary and Non-Primary Forms, $59.18 million.

Aggregate payment for the country's top ten imports for May 2002 amounted to $2.011 billion or 72.9 percent of the total bill.

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

RAW MATERIALS AND INTERMEDIATE GOODS MAKE UP FOR 42.4 PERCENT OF THE TOTAL IMPORT BILL

Payments for Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods consisting of Unprocessed raw materials and Semi-processed raw materials materials accounted for 42.4 percent of the aggregate bill as importation rose by 14.1 percent to $1.169 billion from $1.025 billion.

Capital Goods comprising 37.0 percent of the aggregate bill fell by 2.9 percent year-on-year to $1.022 billion from $1.053 million. The group was led by Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery valued at $553.91 million or a 20.1 percent share of the total.

Purchases of Mineral Fuel & Lubricant valued at $282.20 million, registered a 2.9 percent increase from $274.15 million.

Expenditures for Consumer Goods dropped by 14.9 percent to $201.60 million from $236.91 million, while Special Transactions decreased by 7.6 percent to $85.01 million from $91.95 million.

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

US CORNERS 20.4 PERCENT OF MAY IMPORT BILL

Purchases of US made goods, accounting for 20.4 percent of the total import bill, increased by 4.4 percent to $563.86 million from $539.93 million a year ago. Exports to US, on the other hand amounted to $714.28 million yielding a two-way trade figure of $1.278 billion and a trade surplus for RP placed at $150.41 million.

Japan, the country's second biggest source of imports with a 20.3 percent share, reported shipments valued at $560.22 million against exports amounting to $447.0 million. Total trade reached $1.007 billion while trade deficit for the Philippines stood at $113.22 million.

Republic of Korea followed as RP's third biggest source of imports. With payments worth $228.17 million, imports from Korea went up by 31.7 percent from $173.32 million while revenue from RP's exports reached $97.74 million resulting to a total trade value of $325.92 million and a $130.43 million deficit for RP.

Other major sources of imports for the month were: Singapore, $190.69 million; Taiwan, $165.43 million; Hongkong, $128.98 million; People's Republic of China, $91.74 million; Malaysia, $88.18 million; Thailand, $77.26 million; and United Arab Emirates, $74.01 million.

Payment for imports from the top ten sources for the month amounted to $2.169 billion or 78.6 percent of the total.

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

UNCOLLECTED DOCUMENTS

As of press time 87 out of 62,222 export documents and 101 out of 65,397 import documents are still expected from the ports.

Source: National Statistics Office
              Manila, Philippines