by pna
The lower overseas purchases of mineral fuels and lubricants, coupled with the drop in purchases of semi-processed raw materials, led to the decrease in imports by 8.0 percent in January 2013.
In its five-page Memorandum for President Benigno S. Aquino III, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported that the country’s total merchandise imports declined by 8.0 percent from US$ 5.1 billion in January 2012 to US.7 billion in January 2013.
"The
lower payments for mineral fuels and lubricants and raw materials and intermediate goods reduced total import bill in January 2013," the NEDA said.
The NEDA noted that higher imports of consumer and capital goods partially moderated the import drop during the period.
Petroleum crude payments also declined by 45.3 percent during the period on account of lower import volume and international price of Dubai crude. In particular, the volume of petroleum shipments fell by 45.5 percent while the price of Dubai crude registered a 2.0 percent year-on-year decrease in January 2013.
"These made the value of overseas purchases of mineral fuels and lubricants drop by 30.0 percent (US$ 924.9 million) for the period from US$ 1.3 billion in January 2012," the report said.
Likewise, the report pointed out that semi-processed raw inputs decreased by 10.3 percent that pushed down imports of raw materials and intermediate goods by 7.8 percent from US$ 1.9 billion in January 2012 to US$ 1.8 billion in January 2013. These inputs include materials/accessories for the manufacture of electrical equipment, which declined by 29.8 percent in January 2013.
The trade-in goods deficit narrowed to US$ 713.9 million from US$ 1.0 billion in January 2012.
Imports for consumer goods grew by 19.5 percent year-on-year to US$ 622.4 million while capital goods reached US$ 1.4 billion (3.0%) in January 2013.
Higher inward shipments of passenger cars and motorized cycle (21.1%), home appliances (99.6%) and miscellaneous manufactures (7.8%) supported the growth in payments for durable consumer goods (22.3%).
The increase in the payments for imported non-durable consumer products (16.8%) was mainly attributed to the increased inward shipments of beverages and tobacco manufactures (115.9%), articles of apparel (40.0%), fruits and vegetables (18.7%) and, fish and fish preparations (29.8%).
Furthermore, the increase in import payments for power generating and specialized machines (12.2%), aircraft, ships and boats (50.6%) and land transportation equipment excluding passenger cars and motorized cycle (11.6%) buoyed the growth of payments for imported capital goods in January 2013.
The NEDA stressed that the increase in payments for imported capital goods was supported by the continuously upbeat outlook on the macroeconomy, with the percentage of businesses with expansion plans increasing to 29.6% in the first quarter of 2013 from 28.8% in the same period in 2012.
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