“Besides the high cost of manufacturing and electricity, unnecessary shipping charges are slowly killing us,” one exporter complained via e-mail.
He suggested that the government should set standard fees for all carriers and forwarders, suspend the collection of value-added tax and trim down arrastre and wharfage charges. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
2. Experts express concern over wide-scale investor ‘land grab’ in poor countries
The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPPI) early this week expressed concern over a new practice by cash-rich but food importing nations of acquiring large agricultural lands in developing countries including the Philippines.
The concern was raised by the IFPPRI in a paper presented during an international conference held in Washington early this week by Joachim von Braun and Ruth Minzen-Dick titled: “Land Grabbing” by foreign investors in developing counties: risks and opportunities.
Braun and Dick identified seven countries led by the Philippines that were recently targeted for land acquisition.
Only last February, it said the Philippines signed a deal with Bahrain for a 10,000 hectare plantation in Mindanao for the production of farm crops that the Middle Eastern country needs. This was preceded with a deal with China for a 1.24 million hectare plantation which was blocked the month before.
Other countries where large tracks of agricultural lands were taken over by either foreign governments or foreign investors were Sudan, Ukraine, Kenya, Tansania and Pakistan. Sudan was second to the Philippines as top target with 715,000 hectares targeted by South Korea and Jordan.
The think-tank group noted that protesters in the Philippines blocked the over one million deal between a Chinese company and the Philippines late last year on the issue of it violating the Philippine constitution and its effect on domestic food security.
But in February this year, Bahrain signed a contract for the investment of $300 million to grow crops that are in great demand in Bahrain on a 10,000 fertile land in a province in Mindanao.
Participants to the conference noted that a surge in overseas sourcing of food was a trend resulting from the food price crisis in 2007-2008. With pressure to the Gulf states and populous countries like China, India and South Korea to grow food overseas, the trend is bound to widen in the near future.
They suggested the establishment of a code of conduct to make the big agricultural land deals targeting poor countries work for the good of the investors and the host countries.
One suggested rule is for the needs of the local population to be given priority over foreign consumers in times of food shortages. This should also include transparency on the terms of the land acquisition deals and respect of existing land rights. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
3. BoC adopting electronic export documentation aligned to simpler int’l standards
The Philippines is ready to implement a standard template for electronic documentation of its export and import transactions in June. this year.
This was announced by the Bureau of Customs the other day when its team of information technology developers presented the template to export leaders and value-added service providers of this electronic service.
The making of a template electronic document for each export transaction was part of the Export Single Administrative Document (E-SAD) project that forms part of a bigger program that it has started, that of automating import and export procedures earlier launched in key parts in Luzon.
Electronic processing of export documents, the BoC announced, is the next step to align Philippine export processing to the requirements of the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), the harmonized and simplified global rule on international trade.
“Electronic export documents will then be used as import documents in the point of destination,” the BoC explained.
The RKC is the 21st century blueprint for efficient and fast customs administration that took effect in February 2006. Not yet a signatory to the international agreement, the Philippines has prepared an article of accession which the Office of the President has submitted to the Senate for concurrence.
The Senate is set to hold a public hearing on the accession documents on May 22. When approved by the Senate, the accession documents will be submitted to the headquarters of the World Customs Organization in Brussels, Belgium for final acceptance. Even before the accession documents are put in order, the BoC and its partners in the private sector have been aggressively adopting information technology to align Philippine customs practices with international standards.
Automation was first tested and is now being rolled out on import transactions. Like the importers, exporters are now being asked to register electronically through the Client Profile Registration System (CPRS) before they could transact through the evolving BoC network. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
4. RP’s abaca fiber output seen to reach 100,000 MT in 2009
The country’s production of abaca fiber is projected to reach an unprecedented level of close to 100,000 metric tons in 2009, up by more than 29 percent from last year’s 77,000 MT.
Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) administrator Cecilia Gloria Soriano in an interview attributed the higher output mainly to the implementation of its abaca expansion program.
Soriano said the six-year program being undertaken nationwide already established 36,970 hectares abaca plantations in 2005 to 2008.
Of this total, 8,061 hectares new abaca plantations were opened in Region 8 or Eastern Visayas; 6,270 hectares in Caraga region; and 5,082 hectares in Southern Mindanao.
She said another 13,420 hectares will be developed this and next year, bringing new abaca plantations to 50,390 hectares by 2010.
Soriano noted that the projected increase in abaca fiber production could offset supply reduction resulting from the agency’s implementation of abaca disease management program.
“We are focusing on areas with highest disease incidence. These are Region 8, Region 6 including Aklan and Iloilo and some parts of Mindanao,” she said.
To determine other factors affecting abaca farm productivity, the administrator bared that a special program called the national abaca survey is currently being undertaken.
The program which runs from May to August 2009 and will hire labor contract service enumerators to conduct survey on current total plantings to abaca, she said. Soriano added that the country has adequate abaca supply, but export demand for the commodity has declined.
“The global recession can affect us. We are still optimistic that production will increase. But as to demand, we have to play it by ear with the market,” she stressed.
Soriano said the agency is gearing its efforts to increase local demand for this product.
She said they are encouraging abaca farmers to consider shifting to alternative fiber sources with local demand, like those producing handmade paper which can be used for diploma, wedding, debut, graduation invitations and even government certificates.
“We see that in other Asian countries, their domestic markets keep this industry afloat,” she noted -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
5. Economic official sees need to keep -15% exports target for 2009
A senior economic official prefers that the government keeps its conservative export target of negative 15 percent for 2009 despite the slight increase in revenues in March this year compared the previous month.
At the sidelines of the national convention on “Workplace Partnerships Addressing the Global Crisis Together” held at the University of the Philippines, director Dennis Arroyo of the National Economic and Development Authority’s National Planning and Policy Staff said exports on a year-on-year basis remains negative.
“Let’s assume conservatively the -15 percent growth for the whole year, although I think, by the fourth quarter, we will see stronger, more vibrant global as well as local economy,” he said.
The interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee has revised export growth projection to -15 to -13 percent this year from -8 to -6 percent taking into account the external economic environment.
Exports in March 2009 grew 15.9 percent compared to February after exhibiting five consecutive months of negative growth since October 2008.
Arroyo noted exports are now showing some growth.
Also in the forum, former NEDA director general Dr. Cayetano Paderanga noted that economic recovery may be around April to July 2009 or maybe a bit longer.
“The anecdotal evidence that you can see for the past crisis is that in the US, if there is a domestic crisis, it takes about eight months of recovery. If it’s global, there are at least two global crisis that have happened… that used to take 16 months,” he said, recalling the US subprime housing bubble bursting in July 2007.
“When you add the fact that this is probably the deepest crisis since 1929, you add another three to six months. We are just exactly on time,” he added.
Paderanga, chairman of the Institute for Development Econometric Analysis, Inc., said exports and overseas Filipino workers (OFW) employment are hardest hit by the global downturn.
He said this has affected the OFW remittances which are among the engines of economic growth.
“For us to develop in other ways, you can either be export-led or investment-led or both. To increase investments, you have to address governance issues,” he added without elaborating.-- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
6. Floral aromas invade food and beverage market
Floral aromas are increasingly moving into food and beverages where they are creating new opportunities.
A research report released by Chicago-based Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) encouraged manufacturers and developers to create products within this concept.
“Taste and smell are so intertwined in our flavor experience that perhaps we have taken for granted some of the potential opportunities that aromas can create for the manufacturers,” IFT senior associate editor Donald E. Pszczola noted.
“If so, then this is certainly a good time to explore the directions and opportunities that aromas are taking in food formulation,” he said. Pszczola said various floral flavors are already blossoming in the global marketplace.
Among these are jasmine, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, lavender, lilac, rose, chrysanthemum and vanillas.
Non flower-eater may not be receptive to this, leading to the emergence of ‘gargouillou’ which is a salad consisting of such edible components as vegetables, leaves, fruits and flowers.
“Although floral flavors are still probably in the early stages, they have the potential to create a number of interesting opportunities,” Pszczola stressed.
He said pairings with fruits can influence the success of floral flavors in the marketplace.
United States firm Wild Flavors Inc. predicts the appearance of fruit and flavor combinations, such as blueberry lavender, strawberry fashionfruit and orange marigold.
“Since fruit flavors in foods and beverages are more familiar to consumers, they might be more willing to try a product that combines a fruit flavor with a less-familiar floral one,” Pszczola stressed.
“Also, floral flavors work very well with many types of traditional fruit flavors, with the fruit providing a good background for the blossom’s pleasant aroma,” he added.
Pszczola noted that mood foods or foods that trigger an emotion seem to be gaining some attention right now, partially fueled by the current economy.
“With the economy the way it is, aromas are being used to create a sense of nostalgia, to uplift moods, or instill a sense of fun in foods,” he said. “Over the years, aroma has been looked at for the role it can play in shaping moods.”
This emergence, Pszczola said, may have an influence not only on the flavors created to connect with consumers’ mood, but on the subsequent aromas, as well.
At the same time, Pszczola urged industry players to employ scented packaging technology to create market niche.
“One possible way that food and beverage manufacturers can ‘connect’ with consumers -as well as differentiate their product in the marketplaceis through the use of scented packaging technology,” he said. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
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