MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine economy maintained its appetite for imports in June and ended the first half of the year as one of Asia's most import happy countries.
Data released by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday, August 25, showed that merchandise imports rose by 15.4% in June 2016 with total payments hitting $6.9 billion, up from $5.9 billion in June 2015.
The Philippines also outperformed neighbors Vietnam (1.9%), Malaysia (-1.0%), Indonesia (-6.8%), India (-7.3%), China (-8.4%), and Thailand (-10.1) for the month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
June's result also means that total imports for the first half of 2016 rose by 17.7% to $38.7 billion.
"This performance shows the strength of domestic demand in the country particularly in consumption and investment, as reflected by the latest real GDP growth of 7.0%," said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia.
Foundation to build
NEDA noted that imports of capital goods grew by 64.6% in June 2016, amounting to $2.2 billion.
"This bodes well for the economy as it signals robust investment activity in industry and services moving forward," said Pernia.
BPI senior economist Nicholas Mapa also highlighted the significance of the growth of capital goods importation, explaining that these goods are often bought as investments in order to produce more goods.
This points to more potential economic activity in the second half and could lead to the country's trade deficit narrowing in the second half, he added. (READ: Economists upbeat on PH prospects for 2nd half of 2016)
Imports of consumer goods, meanwhile, increased by 32.6% to $1.2 billion in June 2016.
Higher spending was also seen for both durable goods (59.8%), particularly passenger cars and motorized cycles, and non-durable goods (6.9%) such as food and live animals. – Rappler.com