DAVAO CITY – Two of the major programs being implemented in this region significantly contributed to its export performance of $187 million last year, the Region 11 office here of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI 11) reported.

In its preliminary annual accomplishment report, DTI 11 said that commodities under the Davao Region’s priority industry cluster products promoted under the Export Pathways Program (EPP) generated almost 60 percent of the region’s aggregate export sales in 2009.

The Davao Region industry clusters namely banana, mango, coconut, seaweed, wood, mining, tourism, and information and communications technology (ICT) comprised some $86 million or 46 percent of the entire $187 million.

Meanwhile, the EPP interventions produced $16.70 million of last year’s total export sales.

As this developed, DTI 11 Regional Director Marizon S. Loreto said the Davao Industry Cluster Capacity Enhancement Project (DICCEP) provided a venue for stakeholders to collaborate and create an enabling environment to cope with current and projected market demands.

“In discussing about market demands, the stakeholders, who are representing both the public and private sectors, will also work on addressing industry gaps to further bring development to the priority and allied industries,” Loreto said.

Meanwhile, Loreto said the export sales generated last year through the EPP’s initiatives was 126 percent above its target of $13.18 million.

The micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) of the region received a package of assistance according to their needs, based on the EPP concept.

The services given by DTI to the MSMEs included firm-level consultancy, participation to trade fairs, market and business matching, and incentives facilitation.

“We have designed our interventions based on the requirements of our MSMEs. If they are still starting up for export, the assistance that we’re giving them is different than what we provide to the existing exporters. Thus, we provide tailor-fit interventions to specific MSMEs,” Loreto explained.

Loreto said that the export achievement for 2009 will even go higher once the data from the provincial offices of DTI 11 will be integrated.