Imports likely to recover

MANILA, Philippines - Imports are seen improving in the months ahead after a flat growth was recorded in July, the research arm of the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank) said.

“Expect imports to show a slight uptick in the next few months as the country is in the midst of its import season,” Mabellene Reynaldo, research analyst at Metrobank, said in the latest Weekly Views from The Metro.

“The lifting of the truck ban in Manila may also accelerate the inflow of merchandise goods,” she added.

The total value of merchandise imports in July reached $5.494 billion, about the same amount recorded in the same month last year.

Reynaldo noted that the country’s imports have been posting “weak movement” since May this year, when it contracted by four percent.

In the seven months to July, imports rose 4.8 percent to $36.946 billion from $35.246 billion last year.

“The soft import figures were driven by the contraction in electronic imports, posting a -6.6 percent growth year-on-year for the first seven months of the year. These goods are mostly used as inputs to electronic exports, which have only increased by less than five percent year-on-year for the same period,” Reynaldo said.

“Low electronic imports have led mineral fuels to overtake the commodity group as the highest in terms of import share in July with 22.6 percent. Mineral fuels is also catching up based on the first seven months’ share with 21.8 percent compared to electronics’ 22.1 percent share of total imports,” she continued.

Emmanuel Esguerra, deputy director general at the National Economic and Development Authority, earlier said addressing the congestion in key ports in Metro Manila may improve the performance of the country’s imports.