"The main objective of the localization of targets is to translate national commitments made by export leaders and heads of national government agencies during the August National Export Congress into operational programs in exporting regions," says Philexport president Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr. who is the vice chairman of the Export Development Council.
The program seeks to mobilize the regions in achieving the $50 billion sales in 2006.
The localization program took off in Central Luzon when a pre-regional export congress was held at the Subic Freeport in late October.
The export congress on Nov. 8 will tackle on the firm commitments on what government agencies will deliver.
Similar regional export congresses were scheduled for Cebu City where exporters and trade officials from the Central Visayas will hold their regional export congress in December and another one in Davao City to involve exporters in Mindanao this November, the Export Development Council announced.
In the Central Luzon pre-export congress conference, five of the region’s top export industries presented sectoral issues that need to be addressed.
The furniture industry in Pampanga pointed at dwindling raw material supply triggering high cost as their main problem.
This has resulted from the log ban imposed in most of Luzon after the floods in Aurora province last December. Other needs include assistance in design, product development and marketing.
The gifts, toys and housewares group noted declining export performance, high cost of product design and development and lack of marketing support are on top of its woes.
The food, leather goods, electronics, information technology and electronics exporters had likewise submitted the challenges they need to overcome to help them contribute to the ambitious export target.
Agencies of government that made earlier commitments, are expected to present action programs that address those bottlenecks during the congress proper.
Lead agencies that are expected to deliver the services promised by national officials to boost exports in the Central Visayas and Mindanao area are the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health for farm exports and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for resource-based products.
A list of support activities from those agencies, chiefly the decentralization of technical services embracing areas from the testing of samples, treatment and other activities to comply with health and safety standards abroad to transfer of technology and processing of food export papers.
On the part of the DENR, the localization will ensure the fast sourcing of indigenous raw materials, particularly the simplification of the issuance of permits and environment clearances.
BFAD, one the other hand, is expected to efficiently help exporters in complying with stringent health and safety standards in developed countries that import fresh and processed food from the Philippines.
