External Trade Performance : April 2000

Total trade in goods for January to April 2000 amounted to $21.679 billion which was 7.8 percent higher than $20.110 billion last year. Imports for the first four months of the year rose by 5.0 percent to $10.404 billion from $9.912 billion. On the other hand, exports increased by 10.6 percent to $11.275 billion from $10.198 billion last year. The balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) amounted to a surplus of $871 million which was a 204.5 percent jump from $286 million in 1999.

External Trade Performance : May 2000

Total trade in goods for January to May 2000 amounted to $27.047 billion which was 6.5 percent higher than $25.391 billion last year. Payments for merchandise imports rose by 3.2 percent to $12.841 billion from $12.445 billion in 1999. On the other hand, exports posted a 9.7 percent increase with an aggregate revenue of $14.206 billion, up from $12.945 billion last year. The balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) amounted to $1.365 billion which was a 173.0 percent jump from $500.0 million a year ago.

External Trade Performance : January 1999

With higher export revenues, total merchandise trade for January 1999 grew by 0.5 percent to $4.976 billion from $4.953 billion a year earlier. This uptick comes after seven consecutive months of decline. Export receipts went up by 22.0 percent to $2.581 billion from $2.115 billion while import payments fell by 15.6 percent to $2.395 billion from $2.838 billion. The growth of exports is the highest since March 1998. The balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) was a surplus for the eight consecutive month at $186.0 million.

ELECTRONICS AND COMPONENTS TOP JANUARY IMPORTS

Accounting for almost 26.5 percent of the aggregate value of January 1999 imports, payments for Electronics and Components rose by 12.2 percent to $635.59 million from $566.38 million last year. Compared to December 1998, aggregate payments for the top import grew by 52.5 percent from $416.67 million.

Telecommunication Equipment and Electrical Machinery ranked s

External Trade Performance : February 1999

Total trade in goods for the first two months of 1999 amounted to $9.803 billion which was 0.4 percent higher than $9.765 billion last year. Purchases of foreign-made merchandise dropped by 14.2 percent to $4.653 billion from $5.423 billion a year ago. On the other hand, exports posted an 18.6 percent year-on-year upswing with an aggregate dollar revenue of $5.150 billion, up from $4.342 billion. The balance of trade in goods (BOT-G) ended in a surplus amounting to $497 million.

Merchandise trade for the month of February alone grew by 0.2 percent to $4.824 billion from $4.812 billion in 1998. Dollar inflows from rising exports amounted to $2.569 billion, increasing by 15.4 percent from $2.227 billion last year. Expenditures for imported goods dropped by 12.8 percent to $2.254 billion from $2.585 billion a year ago. The BOT-G surplus stood at $315 million.

External Trade Performance : March 1999

Declining value of imports failed to hamper the growth in the countrys total trade output as rising exports continued to offset the drop. Total trade settled at $15.158 billion, representing a growth of 2.1 percent from $14.853 billion a year ago. Total import bill for the first quarter stood at $7.305 billion, down by 9.1 percent from the year-ago level of $8.037 billion while export revenue swelled by 15.2 percent to $7.853 billion from $6.816 billion in 1998. The country's BOT-G surplus for the first quarter stood at $548 million, a 144.9 percent reversal from the deficit value of $1.221 billion recorded during the same period in 1998.

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National Statistics Office

Imports