Imports jumped 9.6% to $5.4B in March

The country’s imports rose by nearly a tenth in March, suggesting a recovery in exports and higher demand from consumers, which both point to a strong economic growth.

Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the acceleration of imports growth was driven by demand from the electronics sector, which accounted for a large chunk of goods exported by the country.

“Higher imports of materials and accessories for the manufacture of electrical equipment provided the largest boost to the sub-group’s annual expansion, indicating a buoyant prospect for Philippine electronic exports,” Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

Merchandise imports expanded by 9.6 percent year-on-year to $5.4 billion in March. This was faster than the 1.7-percent growth recorded the month before.

Apart from the improving performance of the electronics sector, higher prices of certain commodities and consumer goods also led to the higher value of imports.

The PSA said in a statement that the increase in total imports was due to the positive performance of six of the top 10 major commodities for the month. These were transport equipment, plastics in primary and nonprimary forms, mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials, miscellaneous manufactured articles, other food and live animals, and organic and inorganic chemicals.

The country’s balance of trade, or the value of imports versus exports, improved to a deficit of $146 million from $253 million in March 2013. This indicated that exports rose faster than imports.

Strong economic activity, which boosted consumer demand and therefore the need to import more products, also contributed to the growth. This was driven by robust expectations on consumer demand and infrastructure spending, partly boosted by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” rehabilitation efforts during the period, Balisacan said.

Higher payments for passenger cars and motorcycles and miscellaneous manufactures buoyed the total value of consumer durable segment. During the period, there was also a notable increase in domestic car sales, Balisacan said.

China remained the top source of the country’s imports with a 15.2-percent share amounting to $825.5 million. Second was South Korea with a 12-percent share, followed by Singapore (7.9 percent) and the United States (7.7 percent).