CEBU CITY – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is bullish about a recovery for the country’s export industry, including that sector producing goods and services likewise strongly desired by domestic consumers.

“The export industry will have higher chances of success in foreign markets once the global economy recovers from the financial crisis by the end of 2009,” said DTI Undersecretary Thomas Aquino in an interview.

Aquino gave this post-recovery assessment in a meeting with members of the Confederation of Philippine Exporters in Cebu (Philexport-Cebu) recently.

“The world will be as dynamic, if not more, than it was before the crisis. However, the global economy will be dispersed among more countries,” he projected.

Aquino pointed out that while many Philippine businesses are undergoing “stress tests” as a result of the crisis, some of these players would likely bounce back.

He noted that among the sectors to emerge from the crisis are those selling consumer products also to the domestic market aside from those offering services for overseas Filipinos.

Citing projection made by Goldman Sachs Global Economics Group, the trade official said the Philippines is going to be the 17th biggest market in the world by 2050, indicating enormous opportunities available for businesses.

The country has also been included in the Next 11 countries, along with Brazil, Russia, India, China and ASEAN nations (BRICA), whose economy are seen to pick up and outpace G-7 countries, he added.

Aquino said Filipinos overseas, on the other hand, could serve as “ready buyers” for Philippine products. Likewise, he said goods and services like organic and natural products that are able to keep in step with increasing product standards in markets abroad could also ride out any crisis.

Other sectors with recovery potentials include providers of services based on relatively lower-cost business models like information technology (IT) technical support and healthcare as well as goods and services that are based on unique, natural selling propositions like specialized tourist facilities and events creation.

To prepare for the rebound, Aquino advised exporters to “deepen their expertise in doing business in specific foreign markets as a way of internationalizing their core operations.”

He stressed, “Government, on the other hand, needs to build capacity and increase the size of resources set for export trade financing, including proper appreciation of opportunities and risks in reconfigured foreign markets.”

Aquino said Government trade staff will undergo training to intensify their familiarity with changing realities in competition and entry into foreign markets.

In a related development, Philexport President President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. earlier said that some major exports, particularly electronics and semiconductors are already beginning to recover lost grounds, with new orders trickling back.