Demand behind 16.29% electronics imports growth
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2019 16:20:29 +0000
Robust demand for global technologies raised the country’s electronics imports in 2018, with seven out of nine sectors registering double-digit growth, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (Seipi) said recently.
Inbound shipments of electronics sector grew by 16.29 percent to $28.34 billion in 2018 from $24.37 billion a year ago. Electronics imports represented 26.02 percent of the country’s total commodity imports last year.
“This was driven by hardware [demand] for global technologies such as IoT (internet of things), AI (artificial intelligence), SDV (switched digital video), wearables, AR/VR (augmented reality/virtual reality), etc.,” Seipi President Danilo Lachica told The Manila Times.
The telecommunications sector recorded the highest growth at 31.06 percent to $1.54 billion in 2018 from $1.17 billion in 2017. Following it was automotive electronics, which rose by 27.47 percent to $45.01 million from $35.32 million. Also up were office equipment (22.48 percent), control and instrumentation (22.22 percent), consumer electronics (21.20 percent), communication radar (16.84 percent), and components/devices (16.59 percent).
Electronic data processing also increased by 7.62 percent, Seipi added.
On the other hand, a drop was noted in medical/industrial instrumentation — 11.62 percent to $184.95 million from $209.26 million.
Components/devices accounted for most of the imports at $19.78 billion or 69.81 percent of the total electronic products’ inbound shipments, followed by electronic data processing with $3.31 billion or 11.67 percent, telecommunication, 5.43 percent, communication/radar and control, 4.96 percent, consumer electronics, 4.24 percent, and instrumentation, 2.36 percent. Office equipment, medical/industrial instrumentation and automotive electronics comprised the remaining 1.53 percent.
The bulk of the country’s electronics import came from Korea at 21.08 percent, followed by China (15.80 percent), Taiwan (12.76 percent), Japan (11.40 percent), Singapore (9.95 percent), United States (8.91 percent), Hong Kong (6.68 percent), Malaysia (3.18 percent), Thailand (2.96 percent) and Vietnam (2.92 percent).
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