Neda chief seeks higher tax on oil

The country’s import bill slid for the third straight month in January but fell the fastest at the start of the year mainly due to the huge drop in global oil prices, the government reported Wednesday.

According to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), cheaper oil could temper the full-year import figure, hence the country’s chief economist said now was a good time to raise excise taxes on petroleum products.

A report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the value of imports declined by 14.2 percent in January to $5.11 billion from $5.96 billion during the same month last year.

PSA data showed that imports also were slower year-on-year last November and December. Last year, total imports managed to inch up 2.4 percent to $63.92 billion.

A check with the National Statistics Office’s trade division showed that the 14.2-percent drop posted last January was the fastest rate of decline recorded since April 2012.

“Lower oil prices primarily caused the imports bill to decline significantly in January 2015. Over the medium term, payments for imported crude oil may remain lower, tempering the total value of Philippine merchandise imports in 2015,” Economic Planning Secretary and Neda Director-General Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.

“The 4.3-percent increase in the purchase of raw materials and intermediate goods, which accounts for nearly half (48.4 percent) of the country’s total imports, was not able to pull up the reduced payments for mineral fuels and lubricants, capital goods and consumer goods in January,” Neda further noted.

“With oil inventories remaining at high levels and with moderate global growth projections continuing to limit energy demand, it may take time for crude oil prices to fully recover to the more than $100-per-barrel annual average price in 2011 to 2013,” Balisacan said. Global oil prices have been halved to as low as below $50 a barrel.