Philippine imports surge by 39.3 pct in May

Philippine imports grew by 39.3 percent year-on-year to 6.736 billion U.S. dollars in May, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Tuesday.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the bullish performance of imports is a clear signal that the domestic economic conditions remain robust despite the weak global economy.

"With its current upward trend, we expect investments and consumption to drive growth for the rest of the year," he said.

Among 11 selected Asian countries, only the Philippines posted a double-digit growth of 39.3 percent while other countries declined.

"With the sluggish import activities in the region, we must focus on fast-tracking the country's infrastructure development to support the growth of our economy and improve our absorptive capacity for investments," said Pernia, who is also the director general of the National Economic and Development Authority.

The Philippines' top imported goods supplier is still China, with imports from the country growing by 65.7-percent in May. Meanwhile, the Philippines also doubled its imports from Japan by 122.7 percent, due to the growing demand for power-generating machines, telecommunication equipment and electrical machinery, and other mineral fuels and lubricants.

Cumulative imports for January to May amounted to 31.893 billion U.S. dollars sharing an 18.2 percent increase compared with 26.976 billion U.S.dollars in the same period of last year. Endit