Just like the rest of the global economies that depend much of its imports from China, the Philippines also got its share of importation slow down during the month of February this year, as many factories in China virtually grind to a halt to commemorate the almost month long celebration of the Chinese New Year.

According to Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) collection shortfall for the month of February this year was partly the effect of the almost month long celebration of the Chinese New Year. 70% of the country’s total importations come from China .

“This is a Chinese tradition that has been practiced since the early years of China. We anticipated this as, historically, the BOC’s revenue collections during the months of January and February are usually low,” Biazon said.

“However, while we missed our February collection target this year, we were able to surpass the Bureau’s collection for the same period last year,” the Commissioner pointed out.

The Bureau’s Php20.97 billion February 2012 collection was Php2.35 billion higher than its Php18.62 billion February 2011 collection. This was, however, short of its Php25.67 billion target.

Biazon further explained that he expects the Bureau’s collections to improve beginning this month as not only is the Chinese New Year business nightmare over, but also because he has already made the personnel organization adjustments to maximize efficiency and utilization of BOC resources.

Chinese New Year has always been a nightmare for many businesses in the world. Glow Universe.com for instance, a US based company that markets glow in-the-dark party supplies from China usually encounter this problem. According to its owner Andrew Green, to address this yearly nightmare, he had to make the orders for his February requirements way ahead of time to avoid getting caught in China’s virtual manufacturing slowdown during the Chinese New Year.

The Chinese New Year starts at the end of January and is celebrated by the Chinese people from two to four weeks. Traditionally, China’s migrant workers would go home to their villages to spend the holidays with their families, practically grinding to a halt the operations of many factories.