Abstract

Economically speaking, there are many advantages to owning a business, but entrepreneurship is fraught with uncertainty and risk. Before starting a business, research is needed to rationalize its viability — chief among which is analyzing the best industry to enter, and whether there’s a market for the idea. Using data from the Bureau of Customs’ import transaction records, we aimed to determine if trends in imported goods can guide budding entrepreneurs.

We used a top-down approach to filter interesting industries and product categories, then examined annual import performance using import value (PHP millions), transaction count, average transaction size, import volume (millions of tonnes), and year-on-year growth. Our results show a generally increasing trend in imports from 2012 to 2018, with a slight dip in 2019 attributable to relatively small growth in transaction count.

Specifically, our findings show opportunities in Manufacturing, Food and Beverages, and Clothing and Footwear, with further detail on the products and services worth exploring within these industries.

Full text article and source codes can be provided upon request.