Table 3a  Philippine Imports by Major Type of Goods
          January to August 2008 and 2007
         (FOB in U.S. Dollars)

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                                                                  2008    |       2007     | Growth Rate
Commodity Group                                                  Jan-Aug  |      Jan-Aug   |     (%)
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Total Imports                                             40,422,063,324    35,534,458,872     13.75

Capital Goods                                             10,893,380,382    10,504,274,794      3.70
  Power Generating & Specialized Machines                  1,734,500,195     1,547,720,866     12.07
  Office & EDP Machines                                    2,004,186,960     2,065,009,949     (2.95)
  Telecommunication Eqpt.& Elect. Mach.                    5,826,140,305     5,684,252,135      2.50
  Land transport equipment excluding passenger Cars
    motorized cycle                                          455,909,837       415,060,348      9.84
  Aircraft, Ships and Boats                                  532,874,310       454,442,284     17.26
  Prof.Sci.& Cont. Inst., Photographic Eqpt. & Optical Goods 339,768,775       337,789,212      0.59

Raw Materials & Intermediate Goods                        15,053,156,097    15,646,284,707     (3.79)

  Unprocessed Raw Materials                                1,203,786,425     1,088,952,669     10.55
       Wheat                                                 391,568,454       256,009,784     52.95
       Corn                                                   16,911,549        38,907,871    (56.53)
       Unmilled cereals excl. rice & corn                      8,199,591         3,938,299    108.20
       Crude materials, inedible                             663,710,042       680,488,764     (2.47)
             Pulp & waste paper                               41,841,061        44,491,948     (5.96)
             Cotton                                           13,203,884        16,358,136    (19.28)
             Syn. Fibers                                      44,748,876        52,052,178    (14.03)
             Metalliferous ores                              248,554,577       240,579,547      3.31
             Others                                          315,361,644       327,006,955     (3.56)
       Tobacco, unmanufactured                               123,396,789       109,607,951     12.58
  Semi-Processed Raw Materials                            13,849,369,672    14,557,332,038     (4.86)
       Feeding stuffs for animals                            398,646,620       291,741,257     36.64
       Animal & vegetable oils & fats                        157,120,358       115,637,393     35.87
       Chemical                                            3,386,668,206     2,596,488,408     30.43
             Chemical compounds                              895,300,632       717,301,117     24.82
             Medicinal & pharmaceutical chem.                452,971,452       392,725,577     15.34
             Urea                                            151,371,799        77,238,144     95.98
             Fertilizer excl. urea                           292,279,236        85,855,824    240.43
             Artificial resins                               788,325,160       641,128,746     22.96
             Others                                          806,419,927       682,239,000     18.20
       Manufactured goods                                  3,057,729,274     2,796,491,670      9.34
             Paper & paper products                          362,835,770       313,394,889     15.78
             Textile yarn, fabrics & made-up articles        454,722,175       586,126,181    (22.42)
             Non-metallic mineral manufactures               170,673,415       143,058,945     19.30
             Iron & steel                                  1,211,349,316       818,603,835     47.98
             Non-ferrous metals                              389,082,711       437,663,566    (11.10)
             Metal products                                  297,821,568       318,604,578     (6.52)
             Others                                          171,244,319       179,039,676     (4.35)
       Embroideries                                          103,770,805       184,492,526    (43.75)
       Mat/Acc for the mftr. of elect. eqpt.               6,693,114,692     8,472,929,673    (21.01)
       Iron ore, not agglomerated                             52,319,717        99,551,111    (47.44)

Mineral Fuels, Lubricant & Related Materials               9,258,292,590     6,018,815,793     53.82

  Coal, Coke                                                 132,296,832       158,763,545    (16.67)
  Petroleum crude                                          5,699,051,288     3,512,592,125     62.25
  Others                                                   3,426,944,470     2,347,460,123     45.99
Consumer Goods                                             4,693,245,082     2,912,180,325     61.16
  Durable                                                  1,592,727,897     1,265,238,734     25.88
       Passenger cars & motorized cycle                      867,995,672       653,127,744     32.90
       Home appliances                                       181,182,674       139,739,215     29.66
       Misc. manufactures                                    543,549,551       472,371,775     15.07
  Non-Durable                                              3,100,517,185     1,646,941,591     88.26
       Food & live animals chiefly for food                2,996,296,211     1,552,876,685     92.95
             Dairy products                                  478,293,478       404,691,574     18.19
             Fish & fish preparation                          61,559,394        41,208,067     49.39
             Rice                                          1,523,118,826       380,945,347    299.83
             Fruits & vegetables                             136,232,794       100,436,637     35.64
             Others                                          797,091,719       625,595,060     27.41
       Beverages & tobacco mfture.                            40,853,396        33,462,461     22.09
       Articles of apparel, access.                           63,367,578        60,602,445      4.56

Special Transactions                                         523,989,173       452,903,253     15.70

  Articles temporarily imported & exported                   170,653,558       169,787,939      0.51
  Others                                                     353,335,615       283,115,314     24.80

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Source:  Foreign Trade Statistics Section
         Industry and Trade Statistics Department
         National Statistics Office
         Republic of the Philippines

Note:    Components may not add up to total due to rounding.

Page last updated:  October 24, 2008
Related press release | Foreign trade statistics index