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Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Strong peso to weaken furniture export sector
Furniture exporters in Cebu have expressed apprehension over the strengthening of the peso against the dollar, saying this will have a negative impact on the country’s exporting industry.
During a press conference for the International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition 2006 (Cebu X) at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino yesterday, Cebu X chairman and furniture exporter Eric Mendoza said a strong peso, among others, makes a country’s exports less competitive in the world market.
“The reason China had a fixed currency is that the government is pro-export,” he said.
Ideal
Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) Inc. president Michael Basubas said the ideal peso-dollar exchange level for exporters is from P53 to P54 because most exporters do their quotations at this level.
“Beyond that, exporters will already be having a hard time,” he said.
As of yesterday, the weighted average of the peso was P51.673 against the dollar.
Economist and Institute for Development and Economic Analysis Inc. chairman Cayetano Paderanga said in an economic briefing last week that the peso may go up to P45 against the dollar, especially with the increase of the reformed valued-added tax rate to 12 percent.
Mendoza said if this happens, the country’s export sector, including the furniture exporting industry, would become weak.
The Cebu X is an annual event organized by the CFIF to provide venue for furniture and furnishings manufacturers — small, medium and large — to penetrate the global market. It is also a venue where international buyers and Filipino exhibitors converge.
Kickoff
Laurie Boquiren of CFIF said some 109 of the 150 exhibitors have already confirmed participation to the four-day Cebu X 2006, which will kickoff on Feb. 26 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
The event is supported by the Center for International Migration and Development in Germany, Center of International Trade Expositions and Missions Department, Department of Trade and Industry, European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Philippine Institute of Interior Designers and Product Design and Development Center of the Philippines. (JBN)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 8, 2006 issue)
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