IMPORTS in Davao Region went up by 72 percent during the first quarter of this year based on the preliminary data issued by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) 11.
Data showed that freight on board (FOB) value of imports in the region was pegged at $414.07 million during the first three months of this year, as compared to $240.55 million in the same period last year.
Commodities imported are mostly minerals, petroleum products, chemicals, construction materials, paper, and paperboard.
Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude, remained as the number commodity being imported in the region at $72.46 million.
The second most imported commodity are nitrogenous mineral or chemical fertilizers at $28.97 million. Rounding up the top three are uncoated kraft paper and paperboard at $26.98 million.
Other commodities in the top ten are: structures and parts of structure ($17.46 million); steam or other vapor generating boilers and super-heated water boilers ($13.74 million); other uncoated paper and paperboard ($12.27 million); maize or corn ($10.18 million); potassic mineral or chemical fertilizers ($9.61 million); insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products ($9.54 million); and oil-cake and other solid residues resulting from the extracted soya bean oil ($9.2 million).
The top ten major sources of Davao region imports are Taiwan ($114.95 million), China ($73.61 million), United States of America ($36.02 million), Singapore ($25.78 million), Indonesia ($22.03 million), Thailand ($20.26 million), Japan ($16.95 million), Malaysia ($12.92 million), Finland ($10.61 million), and Vietnam ($10.37 million).