Exporters urged to diversify, find more partners

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has urged exporters to forge cross-country and sector partnership agreements to boost production and demand for local products.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., who is concurrently NEDA director-general, said Wednesday in a statement that exporters should also invest in research and development and technology advancement.

These steps combined could reduce the country’s vulnerability to adverse external developments as well as make exporters more adaptive to the fast pace of international trade, he said.

The latest report from the National Statistics Office showed that exports in October went down by 14.6 percent to $4.1 billion, from $4.8 billion in the same period last year.

“The country’s current trade structure heavily favors the exports of electronic products, thus making the country’s export performance very

vulnerable to the highs and lows in the demand for these products,” Paderanga said.

Exports of electronic products plunged by 36.5 percent as it continued to be affected by sluggish global demand and the disruption in the supply chain in Asia due to natural disasters.

Export earnings from manufactured goods fell by 21.7 percent in October 2011 to $3.3 billion, from $4.2 billion in the same period in 2010.

The export decline in October 2011, however, was an improvement compared with the 27 percent contraction in September 2011.

Meanwhile, year-to-date exports amounted to $41.3 billion, 4.3 percent lower than in the same period in 2010.

“The Philippines must also be aggressive in exploring partnerships with foreign companies that would help in establishing the country as a production hub,” Paderanga said.

He stressed that measures that can enhance productivity and add more value to production should be considered, like encouraging electronics companies to shift to high-technology items like smart phones.

“Philippine products should be marketed as high-quality products through several channels and strategies. These include participation in major international trade events, launching of high-impact and high-level in-bound fairs and missions in the country,” Paderanga said.

Meanwhile, exports growth in wood manufactures (82.7 percent), mineral products (54.1 percent), total agro-based products (27.3 percent), petroleum products (203.6 percent) and chemicals (26 percent) prevented a larger decline in total export earnings.