MANILA, Philippines - Merchandise imports rose 9.6 percent in March compared to the same month a year ago amid growth posted by six major commodities, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.
The PSA said yesterday the country’s merchandise imports were valued at $5.425 billion in March, up from the $4.952 billion recorded during the same month last year.
“The increase in total imports was due to the positive performance of six out of the top 10 major commodities for the month. These are: transport equipment; plastics in primary and non-primary forms; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; miscellaneous manufactured articles; other food & live animals; and organic and inorganic chemicals,†the PSA said.
Mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials was the top imported commodity in March, accounting for a 23.6 percent share of the total import bill.
Payments for imports of mineral fuel, lubricants and related materials reached $1.283 billion, a 23.3 percent increase from last year’s figure of $1.041 billion.
Electronics imports which placed second, on the other hand, declined 4.3 percent to $1.198 billion in March from $1.252 billion in the same month in 2013.
By country, China stayed as the country’s biggest source of imports with its 15.2 percent share in March.
Payments for imports from China were recorded at $825.47 million in March, up by 46.2 percent from $564.49 million in March 2013.
South Korea placed second with its 12 percent share valued at $651.21 million in March, a 56.3 percent increase from $416.64 million last year.
Singapore got the third biggest share at 7.9 percent amounting to $430.53 million in March.
For the first three months of the year, imports climbed 12 percent to $16.168 billion compared with $14.436 billion in the same period of last year.
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the Philippines followed Vietnam and Singapore as top import growth performers among major trade-oriented economies in East and Southeast Asia for the period.
Vietnam continued to lead the region with a 13.7 percent year-on-year growth while Singapore placed second with a 13.4 percent annual gain.