The country’s agricultural import bill in 2016 grew by nearly 22 percent to $10.15 billion, from $8.332 billion recorded in 2015, according to the latest data from the World Trade Organization (WTO).
In its annual report, titled “Trade Profiles 2017”, WTO data showed that wheat accounted for the bulk, or about 10.25 percent, of the total farm products purchased by the Philippines from abroad.
The country’s wheat imports last year reached $1.041 billion, 6 percent higher than the 2015 record of $982 million, according to WTO data.
Figures from the WTO also showed that solid residues from soya-bean oil were the second most imported farm product, with payments reaching $937 million in 2016. This was 32.53 percent higher than the $707 million recorded in 2015.
This was followed by other food preparations and animal/vegetable fats and oils valued at $725 million and $610 million, respectively, WTO data showed.
Milk and cream (concentrated) was the fifth most imported agricultural commodity by the Philippines in 2016. On an annual basis, payments went up by 25 percent percent to $431 million.
Data from the WTO also showed that the Philippines’s agricultural exports receipts in 2016 have recovered from a 33-percent decline during 2014-2015.
Philippine out-bound shipments of agricultural goods last year reached $4.243 billion, 5.07 percent higher than the $4.038-billion recorded in 2015, according to WTO data.
Coconut (copra) or palm-kernel oil remained as the country’s top agricultural export in 2016, accounting for nearly 27 percent of total earnings. Revenues reached $1.145 billion, slightly higher than the $1.123 billion worth posted in 2015.
The second top farm export winner in 2016 was banana, with shipments valued at $619 million, up 40.68-percent increase from the 2015 record of $440 million.
Export receipts from products categorized under “plants’ parts otherwise preserved”, declined by 7.61 percent to $449 million, from $486 million in 2015.
The WTO data showed that the Philippines’s total exports receipts in 2016 reached $56.313 billion, while the import bill amounted to $86.29 billion.
Export receipts from farm products accounted for 7.53 percent, while agricultural imports accounted for 11.76 percent.