The country’s import bill in May declined by 13.4 percent to $4.39 billion, from $5.6 billion recorded a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Friday.
The PSA said the May import bill was the lowest since October 2009, when imports posted a contraction of 16.8 percent.
“The decline in total imported goods in May was due to the negative performance of eight out of top 10 major imported commodities for the month,” the PSA said.
Data from the PSA showed that payments for electronic products went down by 12.2 percent to $1.16 billion, from $1.33 billion a year ago. Electronic products were the top imported commodity for the period, accounting for 26.6 percent of total bill in May.
Purchases of imported oil also declined by 24.8 percent to $668.28 million. Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials was the second top imported commodity with a 15.2-percent share.
Payments for Iron and Steel; Plastics in Primary and Non-Primary Forms; Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles; Electronic Products; Other Food & Live Animals; and Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery also went down in May.
The country’s top import sources were China, which accounted for 16.4 percent of the total import bill, followed by the US with a share of 9.7 percent, and Japan with an 8.4-percent share.
The balance of trade in goods for the Philippines in May registered a surplus of $508.86 million lower than the $862.71-million surplus recorded a year ago.
In January to May, imports amounted to $24.8 billion, a 7.4-percent decrease compared with $26.78 billion in the same period last year.
However, the government remains optimistic that the volume and not the value of imports would ensure better economic growth in the succeeding quarters.
National Economic and Development Authority and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the volume of total imported merchandise recorded a 7.1-percent growth in May 2015.
Balisacan added that the country’s purchase of capital goods from abroad also sustained its double-digit growth at 13.9 percent in May 2015.
“Despite lower payments for merchandise imports, more goods are actually being purchased as business sector sentiment for the quarter remains bullish. This is driven by expected robust demand from consumers, expected uptick in construction-related activities and the higher volume of production from the manufacturing sector,” he said.
“The still bullish importation of capital goods should bode well for the country’s productive sectors, particularly industry and services. Year-on-year expansion in inward shipments of power generating machines, as well as office, telecommunication, and land transportation equipment remains robust,” Balisacan added.
He said the strong growth of fixed capital investment is expected to continue in the second semester and will remain to be one of the major drivers of growth moving forward.
Balisacan said supporting local micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) would help them grow and provide employment to the country’s labor force.
“Continuing improvements in the business environment through various reforms in doing business can sustain the growth momentum. One of these is the recently signed Competition law that ensures a level playing field even for the MSMEs,” Balisacan said.