CEBU, Philippines - As exporters are encouraged to innovate in the face of weak market and stiffer competition, xx industry players are asking for government's aid to pursue competitive innovations.
Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a statement that increased budget for programs, that encourage innovation to boost the competitiveness and growth of the country’s export sector, could play a major role in sustaining the life of the industry.
Ortiz-Luis made a call for higher budget, as he also re-affirmed the group’s commitment to continue to collaborate with the government, academe and other private sector to institutionalize reforms needed to promote and strengthen innovation.
Pete Delantar, past president of the Gifts, Decors and Houseware Exporters Foundation Inc., (Cebu-GDH) said that although the industry is refusing to face the "sunset" frontier, its life-span however will depend largely on the exporters' ability to diversify and innovate their businesses, to avoid further manpower streamlining, and worse – plant closure.
Delantar, whose company Nature's Legacy Eximport Inc., sustained its normal operation amid fragile overseas markets, said the export market is too difficult to face especially at this changing times. But, the flip side is to see the opportunities beyond export and recognize the extraordinariness of the things around.
According to Delantar, exporters can turn the slow business around, if they were to exploit the opportunities in diversification, and innovation.
Delantar believes that the export sector is undergoing a transformation, that those who are quick to recognize and respond to it, still thriving, thus innovation is very important for the industry to thrive.
“Note that the export growths are registered from sectors with high innovation components. For this reason, the country’s innovation system needs to be further strengthened as it remains weak and fragmented,” Ortiz-Luis said.
Ortiz-Luis cited, for example, the need to increase the budget particularly for the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to P55 million this year from P40.75 million last year.
He said the country’s research and development (R&D) budget should be also raised from P11.7 billion in 2015 to at least 5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Ortiz-Luis also proposed for the implementation of the Philippine Roadmap for Internet- related Technology Innovation which aims for the country to be the next innovation hub; and the Philippine Innovation System fueling the technological capacity of industry.
He said the former innovation roadmap hopes to generate 500 innovative start-ups that will help spur economic growth and targets to create 8,500 highly skilled jobs for Filipinos. — (FREEMAN)