2014.06.2500:00:00UTC+00Philippines April Trade Deficit $743 Million

The Philippines posted a merchandise trade deficit of $743 million in April, the National Statistics Office said on Wednesday - following the $146 million shortfall in March.

Imports added an annual 3.0 percent in April to $5.309 billion - down from $5.42 billion in the previous month.

The increase in imports was due to the positive performance of six out of the top ten major commodities, including: plastics in primary and non-primary forms; iron and steel; telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; organic and inorganic chemicals; and other food and live animals.

Imported merchandise on Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials was the top imported commodity in April, accounting for 27.0 percent of the aggregate import bill and value amounting to $1.433 billion. It increased by 11.5 percent over last year's figure of $1.285 billion.

Imports of Electronic Products was second with 19.5 percent share and reported value of $1.037 billion in April 2014.

Total bill for purchases of Raw Materials and Intermediate Goods in April 2014 valued at $2.052 billion and accounted for 38.6 percent of the total imports. It increased by 17.6 percent over last year's figure of $1.744 billion.

By region, China remained as the country's biggest source of imports with 15.7 percent share, followed by Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, Germany, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Aggregate payments for imports from the top ten sources for April amounted to $3.982 billion or 75.0 percent of the total.

Through the first four months of the year, imports climbed 9.9 percent on year to $19.590 billion.

Export data, which was released two weeks ago, showed an increase of 0.8 percent to $4.506 billion.