Philippines billet imports up 92 percent in first nine months

According to customs data, the Philippines imported about 2.56 million mt of billet in the January to September 2018 period, up 92 percent compared to 1.33 million mt in the same period last year.

Russian billet accounted for approximately 46 percent (1.18 million mt) of Philippines imports in the nine-month period.

The largest sources of import billet to the Philippines in September were Russia with 155,432 mt, followed by Vietnam with 103,201 mt, India with 20,174 mt and Japan with 18,775 mt. In the month of September, 344,308 mt of billet was imported.