THE European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has hailed the Philippines’s improved ranking in the latest World Bank Logistics Performance Index (LPI), noting that “seamless and sustainable” trade is essential amid an increasingly globalized world.
The 2023 World Bank LPI noted the Philippines ranked 43rd out of 139 economies. This is 17 notches up from 60th place in the previous index results which were released in 2018.
The report noted that economies are ranked based on indicators related to Customs, Infrastructure, International shipments, Logistics competence and equality, Timeliness, and Tracking and Tracing.
In a statement on Tuesday the ECCP said, it “further supports measures that will aid logistical efficiency as well as customs and trade facilitation.”
The chamber noted that the country’s logistics performance can be “further improved” by “timely implementing the 10-year Maritime Industry Development Plan (MIDP); fully operationalizing the National Single Window (NSW) integrating it with the Asean Single Window (ASW); upholding the International Commerce Terminology (INCOTerms); and officially clarifying the lead government agency responsible for matter relating to shipping rates and port congestion.”
A report released by the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) of the House of Representatives titled, “Institutionalizing the Philippines’ National Single Window: TradeNet,” which was cited by the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) last March 2023, noted that despite the progress made with the implementation of the TradeNet or the Philippine National Single Window, there is still much to do to “fully realize” the platform’s benefits, which include trade facilitation and cost reduction for exporters and importers.
Philexport said a fully functioning NSW can lead to: a “more efficient effective public service delivery; increased transparency in cargo processing; more timely, accurate and cost-efficient exchange of information; reduced customs operational costs; and, improved revenue collection.”
The paper noted that importers and exporters stand to benefit from a “high-performing” NSW because currently, these traders are “subjected to tedious and repetitive documentary requirements and processes,” which the report said are conducted in different physical offices or individual electronic systems of trade regulatory government agencies (TRGAs).
The paper observed that TradeNet continues to be hampered by “technical challenges and glitches.”
The policy paper also cited the Philippines’s low utilization of the “Asean Single Window” compared to other member states in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.