Philippine import bill in Nov. rises by 35%

Philippine import bill in November rose 35.3 percent on year to 4.94 billion U.S. dollars on back of steady purchase of electronics product, the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported Tuesday.

Electronic products accounted for 32.9 percent of the total import bill. Payment for the import of electronic products amounted to 1.62 billion U.S. dollars in November, up 33.2 percent on year.

Other main imports include transport equipment, cereals, chemicals, plastics and industrial machinery. Most of these products were sourced from the U.S., Japan and China.

The trade deficit for January to November 2010 narrowed to 2.54 billion U.S. dollars compared with the 4.04 billion U.S. dollars registered during the same period in 2009.
(Source:xinhua)