PH Statement on the Publication of Import Data for May 2014 and Average Import Valuation from March to May 2014

Sunday, 29 June 2014.

In keeping with our commitment towards transparency and accountability, we are posting a list with over 122,000 entries containing almost every importation into the Philippines in May 2014, as well as the weighted average dutiable values for all imports from March to May 2014, broken down by 11-digit HS code and country of origin.

The lists are in the same format as that published in the past several months. The information is in excel format, and can be downloaded from:

The files cannot be modified without hacking, but the data in them can be copied and pasted into a separate file for individual analysis and calculations.

In the Import Data, each item list represents a specific quantity (measured by weight) of a specific item that was imported by a specific importer on a specific day. It is organized by major product groups, using the Harmonized Standard (HS) Code classification system. For each item, we included information such as a description of the item imported, what country the item came from, its value, and the amount of duties and taxes collected on that item. There is an additional column that shows whether that import was for consumption, warehousing, or transshipment.

On the other hand, the list of Average Import Valuation contains weighted average dutiable values rather than just simple averages.  We believe that a weighted average gives a more accurate picture of what the average values for a particular product were as it factors in not only the prices at which the same type of product was imported, but also how much was imported at what price.

To illustrate the difference between the two, let’s assume that under a certain HS code and country of origin, there are three shipments:

Shipment # Quantity in kilos Value / kg
1 100 5
2 1,000 5
3 1 1,000

The simple average would be calculated as:

5 + 5 + 1000 = 336.67
3

The weighted average would be calculated as:

(5 x 100) + (5 x 1000) + (1000 x 1) = 5.90
100 + 1000 + 1

Should you have any concerns or specific information about actual values of specific imports, please share that information with us in writing, by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We would particularly appreciate it if you could cite a specific HS code and country of origin.