Trade deficit for first 11 months of 2012 lower at US$8.4-B CONSUMER GOODS PROP 2.2% IMPORTS GROWTH IN NOVEMBER 2012, SAYS NEDA

MANILA—Inward shipments of consumer goods, mineral fuels and lubricants, and capital goods kept imports growth in positive territory in November 2012, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

According to the latest report from the National Statistics Office (NSO), the value of imported commodities increased to US$5.1 billion, or by 2.2 percent in November 2012, from US$5.0 billion in November 2011.

“The strong outturn in the importation of consumer goods resulted from increased payments for both durable and non-durable items,” said NEDA Officer-In-Charge (OIC) and Deputy Director-General Emmanuel F. Esguerra.

Imports of consumer goods reached US$723.8 million in November 2012, or higher by 22 percent from US$593.5 million in the same period in 2011.

“The overall increase in the imports of consumer goods partly reflected the generally improved confidence of consumers along with positive developments in the domestic economy,” the NEDA official said.

Esguerra added that gains in mineral fuels and lubricants (9.6%) and capital goods (2.2%) also supported imports growth in November 2012.

“Higher importation of capital goods from a double-digit contraction a year ago mirrored the slightly upbeat outlook of local businesses,” said Esguerra.

For the first 11 months of 2012, the NSO reported that merchandise imports grew by 1.0 percent to US$56.4 billion from US$55.9 billion in the same period in 2011. 

“With our relatively strong exports performance, our trade-in-goods deficit for the first 11 months of 2012 decreased to US$8.4 billion from US$11.0 billion for the same period in 2011,” said Esguerra.

Meanwhile, the value of inward shipments of raw materials and intermediate goods decreased by 7.2 percent from US$1.9 billion in November 2011 to US$1.7 billion in November 2012.  This is due to imports of both semi-processed (-4.8%) and unprocessed (-26.4%) raw inputs posting year-on-year contractions.

“The decline in the importation of some unprocessed and semi-processed raw inputs in November 2012 reflected the reduced performance of some segments in the country’s manufacturing sector,” said Esguerra.

Based on NSO’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries for the said month, tobacco products, textile and electrical machinery registered year-on-year declines in their respective value of production indices.

“Nevertheless, we expect an improvement in the imports of raw materials in the near-term as we anticipate increased volume of production due to improved orders and projects,” he said.

Esguerra added: “There is a need to continually monitor the manufacturing sector’s performance to ensure that impediments to production are eliminated, economic growth is sustained, and employment opportunities are expanded.”

Esguerra said that given the slow recovery of exports and the lower budget deficit eyed for 2013, the increased production will have to be absorbed by higher household consumption, investments, and tourist consumption. 

“These could be achieved if low and stable inflation is maintained, and consumer and business confidence remain high,” he said.

Esguerra, who heads NEDA’s National Development Office for Planning and Policy, is currently OIC while Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director-General Arsenio M. Balisacan is on official business with the President in Davos, Switzerland.

M.R. No. 2013-008

25 January 2013