THE Procurement Division of the United Nations Secretariat conducted a seminar organized by the Department of Trade and Industry- Export Marketing Bureau (DTI-EMB) called “Doing Business with the United Nations” on Thursday at Harold’s Hotel.
The seminar was led by the UN-PD Chief of Procurement Management Section Willem Tahon.
His objective was to enlighten trade entities and potential vendors, including the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), about the role of the UN-PD, provide information on the registration procedures for vendors and how to find business opportunities with the UN. He told the participants that Filipino exporters should be more progressive in bringing goods and services to the UN.
“Each UN entity has a special mandate and to execute that, they need certain goods and services, and by far, the majority of those goods and services are provided to us by third parties, which is why we are here today,” Tahon said.
The seminar was given by the UN Secretariat for free, since they want more suppliers to register and contribute to expanding their market base. Tahon added that the UN has set a procurement budget of $17 billion for this year.
According to the 2016 Annual Statistical Report on United Nations Procurement, the Philippines, third to Indonesia and Myanmar in Southeast Asia, has brought over $49 million worth of goods and services to the UN. Twenty-seven percent of this are goods, while 73 percent are services. IT and communication equipment were the top products bought by the UN, while management and administrative services were the top services.
Other goods bought by the UN were live plant and animal materials, office equipment, published materials, and motor vehicle products. For services, the rest of the volume included transportation, healthcare, engineering, food, and travel services. (Vanessa de Gracia, CNU Intern)