PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved on Tuesday, June 6, 2023, the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2023 to 2028 that aims to boost capitalization on export growth opportunities, developing local industries and making the Philippines a global player in terms of exports.
The PEDP was developed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
In an interview with reporters in Malacañang, DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the PEDP is pursuant to the Export Development Act of 1994, which defines the country’s export thrusts, strategies, programs and projects, as well as with the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, which aims to bring back the country to a high-growth trajectory and more importantly, enable economic and social transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient society.
Pascual said the PEDP outlines three strategic actions to develop vital export clusters such as addressing production constraints, developing a strong innovative export ecosystem, and increasing the Philippines’ mindshare in the global market.
He noted that in order for the Philippines to export, the production of competitive products should be supported along with manpower and improving the quantity and quality of exportable products.
The DTI identified industrial machinery and transport; technology, media and telecommunications; health and life sciences; and modern basic needs of a resilient economy as priority clusters.
“Just to cite an example, there’s a big market for durian in China. We cannot cope with the required quantity,” Pascual said.
“In other areas, same thing... I mentioned gain development -- we’re starting to do this software development but we need more skilled manpower. So, there is constraint in availability of skilled manpower. So, we have to address that constraint,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pascual said he will be flying to Belgium by the end of June to follow up on the negotiations on the European Union’s (EU) Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
He said the Philippines is still eligible for the GSP+ being a low-middle income country.
Pascual said the country got the backing of European businesses that are operating in the Philippines and of some members of EU parliament.
He noted that it was in fact the EU-Asean Business Council (EU-ABC) and the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) that called on Marcos to push for the resumption of the negotiations for a bilateral Philippine-EU FTA.
Marcos noted that a bilateral FTA will be a win-win strategy for both the Philippines and the EU in achieving mutually beneficial economic goals, while maintaining the EU's consistency with its core ideals and its Indo-Pacific region strategy.
The Philippines currently has an FTA with the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its five FTA partners, including Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea to promote greater openness, create a more business-friendly environment, encourage closer integration of economies, and provide a more stable and predictable rules based system of trade. (SunStar Philippines)