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1998 Philippine-China Trade

Philippine-China trade broke the two-billion-USD level as of CY 1998. Following is a four-year tabulation on bilateral trade based on the records of China Customs Statistics:

Table 1. RP-China Trade Volume
CY 1995-98, in US$ billion

Year	Total	Percent inc./dec.	RP Import from China	Percent inc./dec.	RP Export to China	Percent inc./dec.
1995	1.306		1.030		.275
1996	1.387	6.2	1.015	(21.92)	.372	35.27
1997	1.666	20.11	1.339	31.92	.327	(12.09)
1998	2.013	20.83	1.501	12.09	.512	56.57

However, while bilateral trade was at its highest in 1998, the Philippines still has the lowest trade volume with China among the original five members of ASEAN, as can be seen from Table 2 below:

Table 2. Chinese Trade with Five ASEAN Member Countries

(in US$ billion)

(January-December 1998)

Country

Trade Volume

Export

Import

% Increase over 1997

Export

Import

Total

Indonesia

3.627

1.171

2.457

(36.4)

(8.1)

(19.6)

Malaysia

4.264

1.596

2.668

(16.9)

6.9

(3.5)

Philippines

2.013

1.501

0.512

12.1

56.6

20.8

Singapore

8.154

3.930

4.225

(9.1)

(5.4)

(7.2)

Thailand

3.561

1.148

2.413

(23.5)

19.8

1.3

it will be noted from the above table that except for the Philippines, the four countries have the balance of trade with China in their favor;

however, this is complemented by the fact that the Philippines registered the biggest increase in exports to China among the five countries at 56.6 per cent;

China’s overall exports to the original five ASEAN member countries declined during the period under review as a result of the Asian financial crisis; and

the ten major export products of the Philippines to China and vice versa are attached as Tables 3 and 4. It will be noted from Table 3 that the top ten commodities constitute 90.7 per cent of the Philippine total exports to China; this points to a need to diversify Philippine exports to China.

Table 3. TOP TEN PHILIPPINE EXPORTS TO CHINA

(January-December 1998)

(in US$ million)

Rank	SITC Sec/Div	Commodity	Amount
1	XVI.85	electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and accessories of such articles (cathodes, semi-conductors, micro circuits)	121.557
2	XVI.84	boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof	89.243
3	II.08	edible fruits and nuts; peel of citrus fruits and melons (bananas)	67.671
4	XV.74	copper and articles thereof	64.653
5	V.27	mineral fuels/oils and products of their distillation (LPG)	45.600
6	III.15	animal or vegetable fats and oil (copra)	31.483
7	IX.44	wood and articles of wood (plywood)	13.274
8	VI.38	Misc. chemical products	10.850
9	V.26	ores, slag and ash	10.844
10	VII.39	plastics and articles thereof	9.191
		Sub-total	464.366
		OTHERS	47.581
		TOTAL	US$511.947

Table 6. TOP TEN CHINESE EXPORTS TO THE PHILIPPINES

(January-December 1998)

(in US$ million)

Rank	SITC Sec/Div	Commodity	Amount
1	II.10	cereals (rice, maize)	325.110
2	XVI.85	electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers; television image; parts and accessories of such articles	270.493
3	XVI.84	boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances	236.356
4	V.27	mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation (petroleum oils)	60.597
5	XI.55	man-made staple fibers (textiles, garments)	41.789
6	XVII.89	ships, boats and other floating structures	38.697
7	XI.52	Cotton	34.648
8	VI.28	inorganic chemicals	32.516
9	XV.72	iron and steel	28.387
10	IV.24	Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes	28.331
		Sub-total	1,096.924
		OTHERS	404.24
		TOTAL	US$1,501.164

Source: China’s Customs Statistics, Series No. 112, December 1998

Economic Information and Agency, Hong Kong

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Country	Trade Volume	Export	Import	% Increase over 1997
Country	Trade Volume	Export	Import	Export	Import	Total
Indonesia	3.627	1.171	2.457	(36.4)	(8.1)	(19.6)
Malaysia	4.264	1.596	2.668	(16.9)	6.9	(3.5)
Philippines	2.013	1.501	0.512	12.1	56.6	20.8
Singapore	8.154	3.930	4.225	(9.1)	(5.4)	(7.2)
Thailand	3.561	1.148	2.413	(23.5)	19.8	1.3