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By Darwin G. Amojelar, Reporter
PHILIPPINE imports grew for a sixth consecutive
in November owing to higher purchases of electronic and oil
products, the government said Friday.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported
that imports that month went up by 12.7 percent to $5.084 billion
from $4.510 billion in November 2006.
In the first 11 months, the country’s import
bill grew by 5.7 percent to $50.318 billion from $47.595 billion
during the same period in 2006. Exports increased by 4.8 percent to
$45.798 billion for the same period year on year.
This brought a $4.52 billion deficit in the
country’s balance of trade in goods for the 11-month period and a
$1.137 billion deficit in November alone.
Electronic imports, which accounted for 44.9
percent of the total import bill, rose 5.2 percent to $2.281 billion
over the previous year’s $2.168 billion.
Imports of mineral fuels, lubricants and related
materials followed with $964.76 million; transport equipment,
$194.75 million; industrial machinery and equipment, $184.99
million; and cereals and cereal preparations, $129.37 million.
Rounding up the list of the top ten imports for
November were iron and steel, $108.09; organic and inorganic
chemicals, $86.88 million; plastics in primary and nonprimary forms,
$84.80 million; textile yarn, fabrics, made-up articles and related
products, $82.69 million; and telecommunication equipment and
electrical machinery, $75.52 million.
Aggregate payment for the country’s top ten
imports for November reached $4.193 billion, or 82.5 percent of the
total import bill.
The United States remained the top source of
imports with a 13.9-percent share of the total payments, followed by
Japan with a 13.1-percent share. Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the
People’s Republic of China also had significant shares with 9
percent, 8.4 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.
Other major sources of imports during the period
were Taiwan, $350.17 million; Republic of Korea, $305.65 million;
Thailand, $242.64 million; Malaysia, $230.60 million; and Hong Kong,
$216.70 million.
Payments for imports from the top 10 sources for
the month amounted to $3.973 billion, or 78.2 percent of the total.
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