Cebu GTH offers members wider market access

NEW members of the Cebu Gifts, Toys and Houseware Manufacturers and Exporters Association Inc. (Cebu GTH) can expect wider access to both local and international market opportunities, an official said Friday.

Cebu GTH President Ramil Bonghanoy said the association has set up new projects and programs for members this year, especially now that the GTH sector has been identified as one of four top priority sectors in the country after ICT, tourism, and health and wellness.

Trainings, market referrals, local and international trade participation, micro-financing programs and business information dissemination are some of the programs highlighted during the association’s general membership meeting last Friday.

In his presentation, Bonghanoy announced Cebu GTH’s participation in the National Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Program (NICCE).

NICCE is a three-year industry capacity-building initiative funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which started last May and will end in March 2015.

Bonghanoy said the program will involve trainings and workshops for GTH members to be conducted by industry experts on industry cluster development from both Japan and the Philippines.

Joint venture

The association will also have a joint venture with Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) to conduct seminars on the Philippine domestic market. By the end of this month, there will be a directory of local supplier companies.

Aside from establishing linkages with local and international organizations, Cebu GTH
will provide its members opportunity to understand government policies, specifically export policy programs.

“We provide our members information about the current policies of the government to make them more efficient with their business dealings,” said Cebu GTH Internal Vice President Pete Delantar.

Recently, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) implemented the automated export documentation system (AEDS) where export declarations are already done online. According to PhilExport Cebu executive director Fred Escalona, who was also one of the speakers on Friday, exporters without a client profile registration system (CPRS) can no longer export because manual processing is no longer available.

Cebu GTH is also widening marketing channels of its members by actively participating in local and international trade shows and micro-financing.

Tindahang Pinoy

The association’s recent venture, OTOP Tindahang Pinoy, will provide its members and other entrepreneurs opportunity to market their products to local and foreign buyers.
OTOP Tindahang Pinoy was also part of the financing project of Cebu GTH. As of December 2011, the association has gathered more than P7 million as equity.

In cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department of Tourism, the OTOP Tindahang Pinoy was launched in Davao and Clark, which are strategic tourism destinations in the country.

Opportunities in the international scene are also afforded to the members through participation in international trades including International Buyers Purchasing Conference in China and Ambiente show in Germany among others.

In September, Cebu GTH members will be part of the local Philippine construction show in Cebu. In October, members will participate in the HongKong Mega Part 1 show.

Cebu GTH has been in existence for 18 years and now has over 100 members. The new members inducted Friday were Coco St. Fashion Corp, Pinococo Import-Export and Zodjen Seashells Jewelry Handicrafts. Maria Jeandie Galolo, Contributor