PHILIPPINE Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr. said the next Philippine Export Development Plan will be “more aggressive” to combat issues such as rising business costs and supply chain disruptions.
“The next Philippine Export Development Plan is more aggressive, highlighting technology and stronger collaborations towards innovation, skills upgrading, and integration to help counter the negative impacts of issues such as red tape, supply chain disruptions, increasing business costs, climate change, and other challenges,” said Ortiz-Luis Jr., and Export Development Council (EDC) Vice Chairman in a statement shared by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Wednesday.
The remarks were made by Ortiz-Luis as the DTI, through the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB), in partnership with the Export Development Council (EDC) and the Philexport, is set to resume the onsite conduct of the National Exporters’ Week (NEW) activities from December 1 to 7, 2022.
The Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) for 2023-2028 will be launched during the 2022 National Export Congress (NEC) which will be held on December 7. The DTI said the NEC will cover discussions on how the government aims to pave the way for “exporting breakthroughs” in the next six years.
“The PEDP shall define the country’s medium-term and annual export thrusts, strategies, programs and projects and shall be jointly implemented by the government, exporters, and other concerned sectors,” the DTI said in the NEC invitation.
“The new PEDP is envisioned to take an industry development centric approach in export development through, among others, attracting export-oriented investments in innovation-driven sectors to increase product and service diversification,” it added.
Meanwhile, Ortiz-Luis expressed optimism that despite the many challenges, the export industry can achieve its growth target of nearly $120 billion to $130 billion from exports of goods and services in the next five years.
For his part, DTI-Trade Promotions Group (TPG) Assistant Secretary Glenn G. Peñaranda has encouraged Philippine exporters to participate in the event, which he said will help exporters to be globally competitive.
“The thematic discussions and activities during 2022 NEW aim to capacitate Philippine exporters, particularly [micro, small, and medium enterprises] MSMEs, as they go through their exporting journey from developing their products and services, creating their marketing and promotion strategies, and delivering to their customers. We urge all our exporters to grab this opportunity to listen, learn, and participate in the diverse export-related topics and export marketing activities that will happen this 1st week of December. To be globally competitive, we must actively engage, learn and seek opportunities for continuous development,” Peñaranda said.
According to DTI, every first week of December is declared Exporters’ Week per Presidential Proclamation 931, series of 1996. The agency said the government and the private sector commit to working together continuously to sustain export promotion and development.
For this year’s celebration, the Trade department said a series of activities are organized free of charge for Philippine exporters and would-be exporters.
“Four Usapang Exports sessions will be lined up with extensive export-related topics, business-to-business matching activities, and an exhibition featuring exporters, export enablers, and e-commerce platforms and service providers. The event will be held at the Marriott Hotel, Pasay City,” the DTI said.
With the activities lined up, DTI said exporters will also be able to reach out, network, and seek guidance from our Export Enablers in the Exporters and Export Enablers’ Exhibit on December 5 and 6, 2022, which will feature export-related services of government agencies, financing institutions, startups, and other trade-related organizations.