The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI) has urged exporters to further improve their products and services when local goods gain duty-free access to the emerging markets of China and neighboring Asean countries starting next year.

FFCCI president Dr. Alfonso Uy said the full implementation of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) in 2010 paves the way for the Philippine products to penetrate the huge 10 market economies.

Uy said CAFTA has a combined population of 1.9 billion and an aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) of nearly $6 trillion.

“Through CAFTA, we look forward to Philippine exporters enjoying many benefits like tariff concessions, preferential access to some sectors and faster entry into these markets,” Uy said.

Under the free trade area agreement, about 93 percent of traded goods between China and the ASEAN countries will be exempted from tariff starting January 2010. The consumers on both sides will have wide-ranging choices of more than 7,000 zero-tariff items in the market.

Uy pointed out that the Chinese market alone offers huge business opportunities, citing the strong buying power of its middle class which is now close to 400 million people.

“The Chinese are also curious about products of other countries. A combination of those factors would mean that there is a very good chance that our products can get into that market,” he added.

To effectively capture these emerging markets, Uy urged businesses to develop quality products. “We must be more competitive and further improve our products and services so we can better connect with new markets and our neighboring countries economies,” he stressed.

Uy said exporters should prepare themselves in order to conquer the challenges posed by competition. “With our creativity, diligence, quality products, definitely, we should be able to compete,” he said.

“Competition is good in fact. It will encourage people to become more productive, to become more efficient and to make sure they can satisfy the needs of the consumers,” he added.