BY DARWIN G. AMOJELAR Senior Reporter
The Philippine government said that imports of raw materials climbed by a third in March manufacturers purchased more electronics and fuel products.
The National Statistics Office (NSO) said merchandise imports in March grew 32.7 percent to $12.734 billion from $9.599 billion a year ago.
From January to March, imports were up by 38.9 percent to $4.543 billion from $3.270 billion during the same period in 2009. Total exports also rose by 43.8 percent to $4.181 billion from $2.907 billion.
Electronics, which account for 33.1 percent of the total import bill, rose 35.4 percent to $1.505 billion in March from last year’s $1.112 billion.
“The strong demand for raw material for local electrical equipment reflects a strong post-crisis rebound of the local electronics sector,” Acting Augusto Santos said in a statement.
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