CARGO throughput at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) fell in the first half of the year, Manila International Airport Authority data show, impacted by the drop in the country’s manufacturing and external trade in the first few months of 2013.
Total inbound cargo volume from January to June dropped 8.82% to 101.74 million kilograms (kg) from 111.58 million kg in the same period a year ago.
Of the total, international throughput accounted for 70.16 million kg, down 9.48% from the 77.5 million kg recorded in the first half of 2012.
Domestic inbound cargo volume, which accounted for 31.58 million kg of the total, fell 7.31% from 34.07 million kg year-on-year.
Total outbound cargoes for the first half also slipped 7.7% to 116.17 million kg from 125.9 million kg in the same period a year earlier.
International volume dropped 10.83% to 76.1 million kg from 85.34 million kg while domestic outbound throughput declined 1.21% to 40.06 million kg from 40.56 million kg.
Total inbound cargo throughput for the whole of 2012 at NAIA reached 220.23 million kg and total outbound volume, 239.91 million kg, both higher than in 2011.
For the first five months of the year, the country’s total merchandise imports contracted 2.4% while aggregate merchandise exports fell 6%.
“The negative (import) growth was brought about by six out of 10 major commodity groups whose year-on-year change was negative. These were cereals and cereal preparations; transport equipment; electronic products; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; plastics in primary and non-primary forms; and organic and inorganic chemicals,” the National Statistics Office explained.
The decline in exports was mainly due to the steep drop in exports of electronics – which comprises an average 37.28% of total exports of the country.
