In the same forum, Lacson gave the Arroyo administration a passing mark in the area of managing the Philippine economy. He said that the fact that the Philippines has not slipped into recession is indicative of its passing grade.
He also gave the administration a passing mark in law and order at the national level despite skirmishes between government troops and Muslim rebels and a few bombings by suspected terrorists.
He brushed off as baseless perceptions claims of political instability and rumors of canceling of next year’s election.
The noisy democracy that the local media has fanned shows that press freedom is well and alive, while the fact that all presidential aspirants have gone on the campaign trail cancels any adventure trying to stop the elections, Lacson said.
“Everybody is preparing for the elections,” the chamber boss observed. It would be disastrous to reverse that momentum. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
2. Food group: last products standing in export market
Only seven of the country’s top 30 export products, most of them food, have shown positive growth, as the export sector suffered its ninth month of retreat since hit by the global recession last October.
Leading the pack of survivors was the tuna industry which kicked up by 13.52 percent in the month of May on the back of $143.6 million in sales.
It was closely followed by the pineapple, both fresh and processed, which managed to grow by 3.55 percent in the same month after hauling in $103.7 million in revenues.
The other food products that managed to stay on the positive side were: dessicated coconut with export earnings of $54.1 billion which was 5.15 percent higher than exports in the same month last year, and sugar, the last of the 30 top earning products which fetched $$40 million, inching up by 2.63 percent from the same month in 2008.
Two industrial products, fertilizer and fine jewelry, joined the dwindling group of resilient segments of the battered export sector. Fertilizer made a sale of $44.5 million which was a hefty 67 percent hike from $26.6 million export sales the same month last year.
In all, Philippine exports retreated by more than one third for the first five months of the year with dollar revenues down to $13.9 billion from a robust $21 billion for the first five months of last year.
Although the decline has been slower for the top-selling goods like electronics for the second successive month of the year, testimonies of PHILEXPORT members indicated that orders have gone down to trickles, at least, for the first half of the year, the longest battering that they got in more than two decades. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
3. Brushing aside intellectual property issues could be fatal to exporters
Get a patent for your originally designed products before you join a trade fair or send samples to potential buyers.
This was just one of the practical pieces of advise intellectual property experts floated during a two-day crash course the Intellectual Property Philippines and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) offered to executives of export and domestic enterprises that ended the other day.
Better still, take into account intellectual property issues when making your new export plan. This was stressed by Anil Sinha, counsellor for small and medium enterprises of the World Intellectual Property Organization based in Geneva.
He said that brushing aside intellectual property nuances may prove fatal in the long haul. He said this could happen when, after joining a trade fair, an exporter suddenly finds cheaper duplicates of his uniquely designed products.
“Exporters often realize the importance of protecting their IP rights once it is too late: once they have missed the deadlines for application or once their product or brand has been copied,” Sinha observed.
Patents for original products are territorial or only applicable in the country where one gets it. It also expires, he said. In many instances, the copyright or patent laws in different countries differ. These should be known by exporters.
A patented product in the Philippines gives protection to the owner only in the Philippines. The same is true in other countries.
The advice is particularly fitting to several export industries in the Philippines that derive their competitiveness on the uniqueness of their designs. These include garments, furniture, fine and fashion jewelry, home furnishings and holiday decors.
It was likewise observed during the same conference that many local manufacturers have been badgered by multinational rivals with patents issued in the United States for producing like products here when US patents have no application in the Philippines.
This has been true in the pharmaceutical industry and in the manufacture of consumer goods. The multinationals got away with the IP intimidation due to the ignorance of most local producers.
In the foreign scene, there have been repeated cases when Filipino exporters found replicates of their originally designed products marketed even more aggressively and they have been helpless in claiming their IP rights for not knowing the rules.
Makers of food products like Silver Swan soy sauce, handicrafts and furniture can attest to this. -- Abe P. Belena, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
4. Implement cost-cutting measures, sell innovative goods to cope with crisis, firms urged
Businesses are advised to implement cost-cutting measures and develop innovative products based on market demands to ride out the global financial.
This recommendation was made by Mr. Gunter Schranz, external expert of Netherlands-based Center for the Promotion of Imports for Developing Countries (CBI) in an interview on the sidelines of the forum “Towards Recovery: Tools in Coping with the Economic Downturn”.
Schranz said companies need to prepare themselves for the crisis and even for the global recovery.
“Analyze where we can make improvements related to the crisis, prepare the company to save money wherever possible, introduce lean management, control quality, control cost and make a plan what to do for the time after the crisis,” he said.
Schranz noted that outsourcing is a good option for companies amid the downturn, as this will enable them to “save money, time, staff and assets, and get what are best from others”.
Some companies may have also assets machinery they do not use all the time. “It fixes money, it doesn’t produce and it cost costs. Outsourcing means to sell this machine, to outsource this process and to buy the product. This will help the company to focus on the core business instead of attending to small processes which may be done in a better way in other companies,” he explained.
Apart from undertaking cost-cutting measures, Schranz said companies should determine market niches where they are and their products are competitive.
He said they must develop innovative products that have market demands.
“Innovation always is a very good strategy to be one step ahead of the competition,” Schranz said. “So innovation is not necessarily strategy that only works during the crisis. It is a function that must be done at any time.”
He said businesses could generate revenues from selling goods that people look for instead of diversifying their markets.
“Diversify your market only if there is chance to sell the products. It doesn’t make any sense to diversify if there is no demand. Find out what is the demand and then adopt your product to that demand,” he further said.
The CBI expert also encouraged companies to choose the right distribution channels to get the products to the clients. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
5. BoC targets to link with 10 gov’t agencies before year ends
The Bureau of Customs (BoC) targets to interconnect electronically its systems with 10 government agencies concerning international trade before the year ends.
This was bared by BoC deputy commissioner Alexander M. Arevalo to participants of Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) consultative meeting on the improvement of business environment.
“The President gave us P500 million about a month ago and she told us to connect 10 agencies before the end of the year. Hopefully, we should be able to interconnect the BoC with all these agencies, do transactions without cash, eliminate face-to-face transactions and also make sure that everything is done smoothly and efficiently,” he said.
Arevalo said they have already started automating the agency’s imports and assessment system at the Batangas International Port few months ago.
He added it is now working to implement such system in the Manila International Container Port within the next two to three months.
“If that happens, we should be able to release shipments within 30 minutes,” he noted.
The BOC’s electronic-to-mobile (E2M) customs system is meant to streamline imports and exports processing and improve trade facilitation among BoC, other government agencies and its stakeholders.
E2M’s database Client Profile Registration System (CPRS) is currently facilitating an automated process of accreditation and registration of all exporters.
Arevalo said the E2M is geared towards the realization of the National Single Window (NSW) which aims to integrate electronically the agency’s operating systems nationwide and eventually with ASEAN.
“We are now going to do the terms of reference for the NSW and hopefully, this is going to improve the way we do business,” he said. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
6. Guam offers construction subcontracting, other business opportunities for RP firms
Guam can offer tremendous subcontracting business opportunities for Filipino firms in the next few years, especially in its construction sector.
According to a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) market report, construction activities for the operational training housing and other infrastructures relating to military build-up will go full blast in 2010.
“Since the US and Japan are funding the buildup, their contractors will be given priority. But since the projects are big, it is expected that the main contractors will sub-contract some portions of the projects,” it said. “This is where Philippine contractors could come in as sub-contractors or manpower service providers.”
It expressed high hopes that Filipino firms could get these contracts owing to the country’s proximity with Guam and previous experiences of US and Japanese contractors working with Filipino contractors, engineers and workers.
Apart from being the manpower service providers for these construction projects, the Philippines is also expected to be among the sources of construction materials due to their standards compliance with the American standards.
“Filipino suppliers of construction materials such as natural stones and marbles; prefab concrete and steel products; floor and wall finishing materials; sanitary wares and fixtures; and furniture/furnishing have a good chance to export their products to Guam,” said the report.
It also learned that the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) is providing the U.S. Navy forces with the operating, expeditionary, support and training bases they need. NAVFAC, a global organization with an annual volume of business of $10 billion, delivers timely and effective facilities engineering solutions worldwide.
With this, Philippine contractors are encouraged to look for other business deals in other areas under the NAVFAC authority.
Aside from the construction sector, Guam’s other sectors offering business opportunities are health and medical care, food and catering services, garments and fashion accessories, skills training and recreational services.
But to take advantage of these, the DTI said it is important that Philippine companies establish their offices in Guam.
“It is also important that contractors get a license from the Guam Contractors License Board (CLB). The executive director of the CLB expressed willingness to assist Filipino contractors in this area,” said the DTI. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back
