Saturday, January 05, 2008 Export body wants sectoral plan ready by March
THE completion of the three-year export development plan has been advanced to March instead of May this year.
This was announced yesterday by Export Development Council (EDC) vice chairman and Philexport president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. in the light of dark clouds hovering over the export segment of the economy.
“We will start the ball rolling this coming week with a visioning meeting among key players and their partners in government at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” the export leader said.
From there, the EDC and Philexport will be returning to the industry associations and regional organizations of exporters to gather their plans and then consolidate them into a workable and attainable program.
Consultations
Last year, the EDC initiated consultations with regional exporting groups and industry associations for the preparation of their localized plans in a bid to make the planning process a bottoms-up exercise.
The continued appreciation of the peso to historic highs against the US dollar during the second half of the year, oil price increases and a faltering US economy before year-end, however, prompted export leaders to review what have, so far, been drafted.
Development
These new developments that are seen to immediately threaten the viability of the export sector, especially the small and medium enterprises that make up most of Philex-port members, require quick and decisive adjustments in the 2008-2010 plan.
“Exporters also disagreed with government forecasters on this year’s export growth target for the first time in many years, a minor issue that needs to be reconciled,” Luis explained.
Government economic forecasters have projected a nine percent growth in exports this year but most industries were not as optimistic, targeting only a five percent over-all growth if the US economy does not regress or, at worst, a flat or negative growth performance.
Strategy
To be reviewed and adjusted is the central strategy in previous export plans which was industry clustering.
Field researches made last year resulted in the verification of only five operating industry clusters with varying degrees of success.
These included the furniture industry of Cebu, the fruit industry of Davao, the bottled sardines industry of Zamboanga, the temperate vegetable industry in Bukidnon and the processed food cluster of the Caraga region.
Also, to be decisively addressed is the impact of a strengthening peso, and record high oil and power costs that have rapidly eroded the margins of small and medium-sized export enterprises. (Philexport News)
