IMPORTS UP BY 2.3 PERCENT IN OCTOBER 2011
MANILA— Growth in purchases of mineral fuels and consumer goods kept the country’s total merchandise imports afloat in October 2011, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The National Statistics Office reported that imports grew by 2.3 percent to
US$5.0 billion in October 2011 from US$4.9 billion last year.
“Imports of mineral fuels (28.4%) increased due to higher oil prices in the international market and consumer goods (10.1%) went up because of growing consumer demand caused by the holiday season,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga, Jr.
While the volume of imported petroleum crude dropped in October 2011, the
22 percent increase in the average international price of oil to US$99.9 per barrel from US$81.7 per barrel in the same period last year pushed up the value of mineral fuels imports. Meanwhile, seasonal demand for miscellaneous manufactures (34.4%), passenger cars & motorized cycle (9.8%), and home appliances (51.5%) led to higher import payments for consumer goods.
However, the lower import payments for capital goods (-10.8%) and raw materials & intermediate goods (-1.0%) put downward pressure on merchandise imports growth. The contraction in imports of these items also reflects the slowing momentum in the manufacturing sector as indicated by the decline in the volume (6.3%) and value (6.0%) of production indices of the manufacturing sector in October 2011 Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries (MISSI) of the National Statistics Office (NSO).
The reduced payments for capital goods was due to lower payments for telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery (-19.5%), aircraft, ships and boats (-34.9%), land transportation equipment (-14.3%), professional, scientific & control instruments (-14.9%), and office & EDP machines (-2.1%).
“Nevertheless, the continued purchases of power generating and specialized machines (22.8%) indicate strong investor confidence on the energy sector and increased efforts to raise power generation to accommodate rising consumption,” said Paderanga, who is also NEDA Director-General.
The NEDA Secretary also cited the October 2011 Philippine Business Report of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which showed the electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning sector as the second biggest recipient of foreign investments in October 2011 amounting to PhP87.4 billion, an indication of renewed investor confidence in the energy sector.
On the other hand, the lower inward shipments of raw materials and intermediate goods was primarily due to reduced payments for materials/accessories for the manufacturing of electrical equipment
(-25.6%) and unprocessed raw materials (-28.6%), specifically metalliferous ores (-69.5%).
In terms of source of imported goods, Japan was still the biggest supplier of the country’s total imports, with a 12.1 percent share. This was followed by the United States (9.8%), the People’s Republic of China (9.5%), Singapore (8.1%) and Republic of Korea (8.0%).
Total import payments in the first 10 months of 2011 amounted to US$50.5 billion, 12.2 percent higher than the value of merchandise imports in the same period a year ago.
M.R. 2011-077
29 December 2011
