Exporters plead for gov’t assistance

Exporters across the country are asking the government for help, saying their priorities had been reduced to keeping their businesses afloat during these difficult times.

The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) said that businesses from the top 10 exporting regions in the country were pleading for specific government measures to help them survive the pandemic.

“Stakeholders across the Philippines, including direct and indirect exporters and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), appealed to the government for urgent help, saying their focus has now been reduced to ensuring day-to-day survival,” the statement read.

They enumerated a list of interventions needed to enable exporters and MSMEs to recover from the setbacks caused by both pandemic and the response to the pandemic such as travel restrictions and lockdowns.

Philexport said the list was presented during a series of regional online consultations conducted by the Export Development Council over the implementation of the updated Philippine Export Development Plan 2018-2022.

The participants came from the country’s capital, Region 3 and 4a in Luzon, Regions 6,7 and 8 in Visayas, and Regions 10, 11, 12 and Caraga in Mindanao.

They called for specific and detailed measures centered on enhancing trade facilitation, productivity and competitiveness, market access and promotion, financial assistance, innovative capacity and information dissemination.

For example, exporters in Metro Manila called for help in financing exports as well as assistance in addressing the “more-than-usual requirements from financial institutions because of the pandemic.”

In Region 6 in Visayas, Philexport said the major issue was poor logistics, which hampered and delayed the transport of raw materials and finished products.

Regional stakeholders also highlighted the lack of international flights flying in and out of Western Visayas as well as the lack of export capability of the regional ports that could help reduce export costs.

They suggested to have post-COVID updates on export markets and trends, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, United States, Europe and Latin America.

Meanwhile, stakeholders in Mindanao pointed to the continuing struggles of both big and small exporters as a consequence of COVID-19 and discussed how their attention was now focused on day-to-day survival.

They cited the permanent shutdown of South Bukidnon Fresh Trading Inc., an exporter of fresh pineapples, as one of the casualties of the pandemic in the region. INQ