Sunday, December 21, 2008 Bright prospects for RP-made house wares
DESPITE stiff competition from low-cost house ware from China, the Philippines still has a chance to grow its export of house ware products in world markets.
"We have unique native designs of baskets and other household items that can't be found in other supplier countries like China -- let's capitalize on that," said Senen Perlada, executive director of the Export Development Council (EDC) who met with local exporters here recently.
Among the world's biggest importers of house ware, the US market has the biggest slice at 30 percent followed by Germany at seven percent, France at five percent, Japan at five percent, Hong Kong at four percent, United Kingdom at three percent, Italy at three percent and one percent each by Spain, Canada and Thailand, according to data by Commodity Trade Statistics (Comtrade).
Recent Comtrade data shows the US as the biggest buyer of baskets and household wicker items, buying more than half of the world's exports of these products, at 54 percent. The second biggest buyer is Germany at 15 percent, Japan at 13 percent, UK and France at nine percent.
Ceramic house ware is also in big demand with the US buying 39 percent of the world's imports in 2007 followed by UK at seven percent, Canada at six percent, France at five percent, Germany at four percent and many other countries combined at 39 percent, Comtrade data show.
China was the world's biggest exporter and supplier of house ware products last year, getting 40 percent of global exports followed by Hong Kong at eight percent, Germany at six percent, UK at three percent, Vietnam at three percent, Portugal, Italy and the US at two percent, France and Thailand at one percent.
Among house ware products, Philippine exports of baskets took a seven percent slice of the world's suppliers last year. China, however, still dominated the global supply of baskets at 72 percent of total world exports, followed by Vietnam at 11 percent, Indonesia at seven percent and Hong Kong at three percent.
Philippine house ware exports show baskets comprise almost 60 percent of total shipments, followed by porcelain products at 20 percent, ceramic household items and placemats at eight percent and artificial flowers at five percent. Most of these exports were shipped to the US, the country's biggest market at 63 percent. This is followed by Japan at 19 percent, UK and Italy at seven percent and Egypt at four percent, Comtrade data show.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Merly Cruz has high hopes that Philippine house wares will get a bigger share of the global market in the years to come, citing the country's good reputation for being a primary source of unique and creative handicrafts and house ware products.
"There's a booming outdoor market and growing consciousness of the environment -- this will spur a demand for our house wares. With our Filipino designers gaining world reputation especially in trade fairs abroad, it's a big opportunity for local exporters of house wares," Cruz said.
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