Export industry leaders are bullish that the export industry would stage a recovery this year.

Philexport President Sergio Ortiz-Luis told a recent meeting of exporters that “the year of the tiger is the year of recovery for our sector.”

“Recovery from a very difficult crisis we did not even create is a difficult climb as we have experienced during the trade slump of 2001. The first step is for us to have faith in ourselves that we can pull through,” Ortiz-Luis said.

“Then we will work together and individually, to make it happen. We are over the hill now, “ he added after noting that the more year long two-digit retreat since October of 2008 slowed down to single digit ebb last October and went back to the positive path last November.

Exporters have noted that actual orders toward the end of last year and early this year are coming back.

Philexport trustee representing the furniture industry, Myrna Bituin, said orders from Europe and the Middle East are filling in the drastic decline in furniture demand from the United States.

“We may not yet be able to bring back the volume of furniture exports to pre-crisis levels. But if we can add exports to the newly prosperous countries in Asia, particularly China and India, plus sales of top quality furniture to Europe and the Middle East, we hope to get back on solid footing this year,” Bituin, a pillar of the furniture industry in Central Luzon said.

It will need hard work opening new markets since before the crisis, the United States took in up to 90 percent of exports from Central Luzon.

“Exporters in Cebu are recovering,” said Allan Suarez, chairman of Philexport Cebu. “Fashion jewelry is staging a comeback, but furniture is still having a hard time.” He said that the furniture sector in Cebu held on the growth path in the first half of the year-long trade decline, but was hard hit in the second half of last year.

Almost all other sectors said that many of their members got through the long sales drought abroad as a result of the global recession by tailoring their products to the needs of the domestic market and selling locally.