Imports up 22% to $4.7 B in Jan

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s imports rose by more than a fifth in January from a year ago supported by the positive performance of electronic products and eight other major commodities, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The PSA reported yesterday the country’s imported merchandise amounted to $5.757 billion in January, a 21.8 percent increase from the $4.727 billion recorded during the same month in 2013.

Compared to the $5.413 billion posted in December 2013, imports in January went up 6.4 percent.

The PSA attributed the higher imports in January to the growth in electronic products, which went up 11 percent to $1.279 billion compared to the $1.150 billion in the same month last year.

Other major commodities which contributed to the increase in imports are power generating and specialized machinery; transport equipment; cereals and cereal preparations; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; miscellaneous manufactured articles; other food & live animals; plastics in primary and non-primary forms; and iron and steel.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the January result shows imports are recovering from a weak performance last year.

The Philippines’ full-year 2013 merchandise imports amounted to $61.713 billion, down 0.7 percent from the $62.129 billion in 2012.

“The three-month moving average growth in January 2014 suggests that imports could be trending upwards in line with the expected recovery in exports,” he said.

The PSA noted that China was the country’s top source of imports in January, with a 14.7 percent share.

Imports from China, which were valued at $844.04 million, climbed 36.8 percent from $616.98 million in January 2013.

The US, including Alaska and Hawaii, was the second biggest source of Philippine imports with its 10.6 percent share valued at $609.87 million, followed by Republic of Korea which accounted for an 8.7 percent share amounting to $501.28 million.

Meanwhile, the balance of trade in goods for the Philippines in January 2014 registered a deficit of $1.376 billion from the $716 million deficit in the same month last year.