MANILA, Philippines – Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that Philippine imports dropped 10.6 percent in December 2014, the steepest decline since April 2012 which saw a decline in imports to 13.3 percent.
Electronics and gadgets accounted for the bulk of imports, at 34.8 percent of the entire import bill, while mineral fuels accounted for the second biggest import item at 15.5 percent.
The last month of 2014 registered a trade deficit of $68.2 million in December, for a total annual trade deficit to $2.1 billion.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the global drop in prices of oil would probably mean a narrower trade deficit in 2015; thus, balance of payments and current account surpluses are also expected to be bigger this year.
Trading was severely affected in 2014, due to woes at Manilas’ ports, forcing government intervention to boost economic growth.