ICTSI urges rethinking of supply chain

MANILA, Philippines — The country should rethink and change its supply chains amid the disruptions brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic, according to Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) executive vice president Christian Gonzalez.

He said the country needs to lessen its reliance on traditional sources and find new markets.

“My recommendation is to rethink our sources,” Gonzalez said during the Laging Handa virtual briefing yesterday.

“The whole world is affected. It is not just us that is in search of solutions. It is not only us who are in need of critical essential items. We’re competing with the rest of the world so we need to act on that and we need to stop relying on our traditional ways and think of better ways to do things,” he said.

Gonzalez cited as an example recent reports of meat shortage in the US. 

“If we are importing critical meat items, food items from the US, it’s about time that we look for other options. Whether that’s from China, Southeast Asia, or any other markets,” he said.

“We need to change our supply chain and lessen our reliance on traditional sources,” Gonzalez said.

ICTSI, which has port operations all over the world, is a listed company that develops, manages and operates container terminals in 19 countries across six continents.

In the Philippines, Gonzalez said operational levels at ICTSI’s flagship Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) have returned to normal after “dangerously” low level of pullouts earlier threatened its operations.