Exporters urged to seek new markets

A Manila congressman said yesterday that the Philippine export industry doesn’t need new laws but a new strategy that would "thrust into the world market Philippine products with export potential."

Rep. Harry C. Angping, chairman of the House committee on trade and industry, urged Filipino exporters to venture out of the domestic front and compete in the export market as he announced the opening on Nov. 28 of the five-day National Exporters’ Week at the SM Megatrade Hall 1.

Saying that exports are the "key to economic prosperity," he stressed the trade fair will help "identify champion products" and revealed plans to develop one product per province for export.

Angping also said the strategy is to seek new markets for Philippine products like China, "away from the traditional US and European markets."

Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis said about 170 exhibitors are expected to take part in the five-day fair, mandated through Presidential Proclamation No. 931 and House Resolution No. 33. This year’s theme is "Yamang Likas sa Kanayunan, Produktong Pilipino Pandaigdigan (Wealth from Countryside, Filipino Products Go Global)."

Main events include the 2nd Buy Pinoy Trade Fair, dialogue between legislators and exporters, and the confernment of awards by the Export Development Council (EDC) on top Filipino exporters led by Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II and the awarding of the prestigious Gold Shell award by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

Ortiz-Luis said Philexport chapters in Cebu and General Santos city will hold simultaneous exhibits.

"We want to make the Filipino buyer aware of the tremendous value of the export industry to our national development," said Angping who, at the same time, invited the public to come and visit.

In its six-year existence, the National Exporters’ Week has helped forge successful partnerships in the industry, he said. Admitting that the attack on the World Trade Center has set back world trade activities and plunged export trading figures, Angping said Filipino buyers must not be intimidated.

"Instead they (Filipino exporters) must resolve not only to recover but actually triumph over this tragedy," he said. He noted that Filipinos are rather shy who rarely venture out of the domestic market and into the export market. "That’s why we want to educate domestic buyers about the products we sell abroad," he said.

Angping is thinking of developing companies in the industry by providing wider access to capital, technology and other incentives. "We want to identify champion products and, if possible, develop a product per province for export and tap new markets, away from the traditional US and European markets, like China," he said.

Confident that the Filipino can do it using the power of exports, Angping said: "The beauty of exports is that everybody is involved, including those in the countryside. The demand for export products will always increase as populations increase. It is the way to increased incomes and the key to our dream of economic prosperity."