Imports continue slide; trade deficit eases

Philippine imports posted a double-digit decline for the 12th straight month in October, reflecting sluggish global trade.
The National Statistics Office on Wednesday said the country’s import bill in October slid by 16.8 percent to about $3.81 billion, bringing the 10-month import bill to $35.49 billion or a 29-percent drop from last year’s $49.96 billion.
Following the 27 percent slide in exports for January to October, the country’s total external trade in goods went down by more than a quarter to $66.8 billion.
The Philippines posted a trade deficit of $4.175 billion, less than the $7.07-billion deficit recorded a year earlier.
The Philippines’ top import commodity was electronic products, used as components for the country’s main export items, accounting for more than a third of the October import bill at $1.431 billion. This was more than a tenth lower than last year’s figure of $1.614 billion.
Besides electronic products, top import items were mineral fuel, lubricants and other related materials; industrial machinery and equipment’ iron and steel; organic and inorganic chemicals; and cereals.
Japan was the Philippines’ largest source of imports with a 13.3 percent share, followed by the US and Singapore.
Other top sources were South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.