PHL imports rise by a fifth in February

Philippine imports grew by a fifth in February, pushing the country's trade deficit higher in the first two months of the year. The National Statistics Office on Tuesday said Philippine imports rose 20.1 percent to $4.69 billion, bringing the trade deficit to $2.125 billion in the January to February period. In the same period last year, the country's trade deficit stood at $1.042 billion. "Total external trade in goods for the first two months of 2011 reached $17.856 billion, a 16.4-percent increment from $15.341 billion registered during the same period in 2010. Total imports posted a 22-percent annual increase to $9.991 billion," the NSO said. Meanwhile, exports for the same period recorded a 10-percent growth to $7.865 billion. Electronic products, which are used as raw materials for the country's exports, accounted for 32.2 percent of the total import bill or $1.510 billion, a 5.3-percent rise over last year's figure of $1.434 billion. Japan was the country’s largest source of imported materials, accounting for 11.2 percent. It was followed by the US and Singapore, respectively. Other top sources were South Korea, China, Thailand, Taiwan, UAE, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News