THE Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham) has expressed support for the call of Cebu business owners to accelerate expansion of Cebu’s international port to stimulate economic activities in the province as well as boost international trade.
CanCham president Julian Payne said good infrastructure is essential to a good economy, especially when competition in the global trade has become tougher.
Payne said expanding Cebu’s port will help decongest cargo traffic in Manila, stimulate economic activities and reduce logistics costs. Better infrastructure will also increase international trade in Cebu and the Visayas to countries like Canada and the rest of the world.
The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is lobbying for the government to accelerate infrastructure projects such as the new international port.
CCCI president Ma. Teresa Chan said they already coordinated with the Cebu Provincial Government as well as national government agencies to realize the plan for Cebu to have an international port that is at par with international standards.
“If they want Cebu to be a trans-shipment hub for Asia Pacific, we certainly need a proper port facility,” Chan said in an earlier interview.
“It is not enough to reduce tariff to zero percent. It is not enough to reduce other trade barriers. Cebu needs to have a port facility because it is essential in attracting more investments. After all, its improvement will not only benefit Cebu, but on a larger scale, it will benefit the entire Philippine economy,” Payne said at the sidelines of the chamber’s 25th anniversary held at the Radisson Blu Hotel Cebu last Monday.
CanCham, which has 267 members in the country, is also keen on promoting other advocacies such the ease of doing business in the Philippines, opposing reforms of the Mining Act and promoting trade and investments in the Visayas and Mindanao. The chamber also supports the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and the Competition Bill.
Payne said CamCham as a business organization has already moved from being an inward-focused, Manila-centric organization to an outward-looking, Philippine-wide perspective.
After establishing a Cebu Chapter in 2010, CanCham has expanded its reach to include Davao. Early this year, the organization opened its Davao Chapter.
“We are encouraging businesses to look beyond Manila and look for opportunities in Cebu, Davao and the other next layers of cities to boost trade between Canada and the Philippines,” said Payne.
Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the Philippines totaled $1.7 billion in 2013, up 14.6 percent over the previous year. Canadian exports to the Philippines reached $593 million in 2013, slightly up from $527.9 million in 2012.
Canada’s top exports to the Philippines were meat, wood and related products, and cereals. Top merchandise imports were electrical machinery and equipment, precision and technical instruments, and machinery.
Industry reports also said that the Philippines is the only Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) country that offers direct air transportation services to and from Canada. With close to 430,000 one-way trips in 2013, the Philippines is Canada’s 14th-largest air travel market, just behind Japan.
In the last three years, the Philippines has become the biggest immigrant source for Canada. There are about 662,600 people of Philippine descent in Canada.