By Kris Crismundo/PNA
MANILA – Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez called on stakeholders of the export industry to rally behind the Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) so that its lofty objectives would come into fruition.
During the National Exporters Congress (NEC) in Pasay City Friday, Lopez said the PEDP has laid out strategies, plans, and programs to further boost the country’s export sector.
“I am enjoining the 18 government agencies, specifically the concerned government agencies, to strengthen the implementation of the said Plan. I also call the other relevant agencies in the development of the export sector,” Lopez said.
The PEDP targets export revenues to reach USD122 billion to USD130 billion by 2022.
This year, the industry eyes goods and services export revenues to hit between USD86.2 billion and USD87.8 billion.
During the event, Lopez bared the key strategies under the PEDP that will benefit the overall business environment for exporters and related enterprises. These include the implementation of the Ease of Doing Business law, taking advantage of the existing trading arrangements with the European Union and United States, and designing comprehensive packages of support for selected products and services.
“The strategies, plans, and programs are laid down before you. These are the strategies and programs that are needed by the export sector to boost its performance and sustain its gains,” he noted.
The trade chief also encourages micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to be part of the export industry’s value chain.
“Micro, small, and medium enterprises are now operating in a more globalized and complex trading system with value chains as the predominant form of industrial organization,” Lopez said.
“In other words, our MSMEs are internationalizing, both by design and default-meaning. These may take the form of the import of inputs, the supply of inputs to an exporting firm, or the direct involvement in exports. In other words, they become exporters themselves,” he added.
