AFTER SEEING THE FAR-REACHING effects of weather disturbances on the country’s exporters, the Export Development Council will put more weight on the impact of climate change when it conducts its review of the country’s export development plan.

Sergio Ortiz-Luis, EDC private sector vice chair, said in a statement posted on the Philippine Exporters Confederation website that one of the key considerations would be the impact of climate change on the export sector, as natural disasters had significant negative effects on raw materials for indigenous exports.

Exporters most affected by inclement weather included those engaged in food production and other natural resource-based enterprises, such as handicraft and furniture.

Another important point to be taken into consideration, he said, would be the shifts in the export market brought about by a global recession.

Ortiz-Luis said the global economic crisis saw developed economies such as the United States, Europe and Japan suffering the most.

The US and Japan are the Philippines’ two biggest trading partners.

In contrast, he said, large Asian economies such as China, India and Indonesia were hardly affected by the global recession.

Together with the effects of climate change, the long-term implications of this new trend in global trade and investments would also have to be studied, Ortiz-Luis said.

The EDC is set to update and review the country’s three-year export development plan, which is scheduled to expire next month.

A new one will be formulated, taking into consideration emerging local and global conditions.

To stay afloat, exporters have become more aggressive in marketing their goods domestically. One example of such effort is the Buy Pinoy Exporters Fair at the SM Megamall from Nov. 22-30.

On sale at the trade fair are Christmas décor, fine jewelry, fresh and processed food, furniture, and natural fiber-based textile products.