However, since external demand may not be enough to sustain long-term economic growth, these economies are asked to undertake policy measures to rebalance sources of growth also toward greater domestic demand.

“While the export-led model has contributed to emerging East Asia’s impressive growth record over the past few decades, rebalancing in advanced economies makes clear that emerging East Asia can no longer rely on external demand as its primary driver of economic growth. Stronger domestic demand must fill the gap,” stressed the ADB.

It said the policies for rebalancing may vary by country given the diverse nature of their current account positions.

“It could involve demand-side policies that encourage households to spend more and companies to invest more, as well as supply-side policies that promote small and medium enterprises and service industries catering to domestic demand,” it noted.

Moreover, strengthening the foundation of finance could relax borrowing constraints, particularly on household and small companies, and facilitate a more efficient allocation of economic resources, the ADB further said. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back

2. RP lures more firms into mineral projects

The Philippines will look for more companies interested to invest in mineral development projects to continue generating revenues from mineral exports.

“It is investment-driven. As long as we are able to attract investments in the mining sector, we can be assured of export earnings coming from there,” said Senen Perlada, director of the Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Export Trade Promotion.

Perlada said there was good demand for the country’s mineral commodities abroad.

“China, as well as other markets, is on its way to recovery. With that, commodities should be getting very good demand already. Copper, for instance, would be there. Gold demand is in an all-time high,” he said.

This fact was confirmed by National Statistics Office (NSO) data indicating that the 0.7-percent growth of total merchandise exports in October 2009 was supported by growth in agro-based and mineral products.

Mineral products registered a whopping 103.7 percent growth in October, a reversal from previous month’s decline, due mainly to increase in copper metal exports of 363.1 percent.

Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc., earlier identified the mining sector among the growth drivers of the country’s export industry which was projected to grow 10 percent in 2010.

Other sectors seen to fuel next year’s exports growth include electronics and semiconductors, business process outsourcing, jewelry, tourism and gaming-related activities, and agriculture and services.

To attain the projected mineral exports revenues and foreign investment inflows to the sector, industry stakeholders are focusing on the development of the top five mineral commodities which are gold, silver, copper, nickel and chrome.

This was among the strategies introduced in the Philippine Export Development Plan for 2008 to 2010 to achieve target export sales during the period. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back

3. Biodiversity, traditional knowledge proposed as innovation strategy

The country must explore ways to develop a national innovation system that uses biodiversity and traditional knowledge (TK) as leverages to enable entrepreneurs capture new markets.

This recommendation was made in a workshop by Atty. Elpidio V. Peria, the legal adviser for the Office of the Director of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources handling Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) treaty negotiations.

Peria said a comprehensive strategy addressing this issue has to be mapped out given the thrust for a Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in the CBD to be adopted in October 2010. Such Protocol is meant at ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources.

He said such innovation system should also enable local technologies generate new technologies.

“A country can develop technological capacity if it acquires key technologies. ABS principle of CBD is one means to acquire these technologies,” Peria noted, citing the book, the Nature of Technology, authored by W. Brian Arthur.

He said the system must use ABS as the means to secure a leading-edge in key bio-economy technologies, and integrate the concern of protecting the rights of indigenous people (IP) as a matter of equity.

Peria said there is a need to prevent bio-piracy to maximize the use of the country’s biodiversity. Bio-piracy happens when researchers claim the knowledge as their own or their “discovery” in their publications, intellectual property rights applications, promotion, without acknowledgement or benefit-sharing.

He pointed out that the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement offers limited solutions to addressing these issues.

“TRIPS puts everything TK, biodiversity - as a trade matter making it a bargaining chip in a game rigged against a developing country’s advantages (i.e. biodiversity) when it could have played a different game instead,” he added. -- Danielle Venz, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back

4. BETP to conduct more outbound business matching missions in 2010

Encouraged by an immensely positive turnout of their outbound business matching (OBM) missions this year despite the global economic slump, the Bureau of Export Trade Promotion (BETP) plans to conduct more outbound business matching missions to every nook and cranny of the world marketplace next year.

The BETP has slated 23 OBM missions to economies like Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, India, Taiwan, Italy, United States (U.S.), Brazil, Oman, and Saudi Arabia for 2010.

The figure more than doubles the number of OBM missions conducted by BETP in 2009. BETP is the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

BETP Director Senen M. Perlada cited that they have conducted 11 OBM mission to 12 economies, including Italy, Spain, Japan, the Middle East, U.S., Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand and Guam this year. This covered eight product sectors: home style, processed food, engineering, construction materials and services, personal care products, education services, home furnishing, natural and organic products, he added.

Perlada pointed out that the OBM missions that were organized this year yielded $37.2 million worth of export sales.

By conducting more OBM missions, we hope to provide more business opportunities for our exporters and generate greater export revenues, Michael Dodjie R. Fabian, Assistant Director of BETP, commented.

Under the OBM missions scheduled for 2010, the BETP will be providing prospective foreign buyers access to and information about the country's major product offerings, which include food products, marine products, auto parts, fine jewelry, furniture, housewares, education services, and wellness services to cater to their specific needs, Fabian further noted.

Specifically, to the U.S. market, BETP through its planned OBM mission will set out to find more business opportunities for the country's wellness services, fine jewelry, natural and organic products and food products.

The BETP will likewise conduct OBM to penetrate the food products markets of India (snack food), Malaysia (halal food), Italy (ethnic food), Japan, Oman and Saudi Arabia, and fully satisfy the apparent demand for the country's content for television and films in Indonesia and education services in Vietnam. -- Ritchie Alburo, PHILEXPORT News and Features <--back