Philippine May imports drop by 2.4%

The Philippine import bill in May declined by 2.4 percent on year to 5.26 billion U.S. dollars on back of a sharp decline in the value of electronics imports, the National Statistics Office said Thursday. Electronic products account for nearly a quarter of the total imports bill. Electronics imports fell by 10.6 percent on year to 1.28 billion U.S. dollars. The value of other key imports like mineral fuels, cereals, transport equipment and chemicals likewise declined. Most of Philippine imports came from China, the U.S. and South Korea. The trade gap in May narrowed to 364 million U.S. dollars from 454 million U.S. dollars deficit posted in the same period last year.