Tuesday, December 05, 2006 GTH producers need gov’t aid for global fairs
A RESEARCH group has advised the local gifts, toys and house wares sector (GTH) to seek government assistance to be able to join more international trade fairs and promote its products to the international market.
But results of the focus group discussions with industry players conducted this year by the De la Salle University (DLSU) research group revealed that a common sentiment of the entrepreneurs is that there is little or no support extended to them by the government when they join trade fairs or product expositions in the international arena.
Jenefer Cruz, president of the Cebu-GTH Manufacturers and Exporters, earlier said a 50 percent subsidy in the cost of joining international sales mission and trade exhibits is already a big help to the exporters.
“We are not asking (that it will be) totally for free,” he said in an interview.
Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. president Michael Basubas earlier said participating in marketing missions abroad usually costs each company about P1 million.
Regulations
The DLSU research on the GTH sector also reveals that industry players found government interventions to have had added cost to their production since there is a need to adhere to its promulgated rules and regulations.
The DLSU was commissioned by the Private Enterprise Accelerated Resource Linkages to conduct an industry research for Cebu’s GTH and furniture manufacturing and exporting sector, and provide recommendations for the improvement of the performance of both industries.
Recommendations
Among the recommendations of the research team were for the GTH sector to improve packaging and product presentation; conduct market research to make business sustainable and competitive; invest in new technologies to help make the business competitive despite the cost involved; and to avail itself of the services of subcontractors and casual employees to reduce the cost of operations. (JBN)
