AN increase in import charges may be seen as early as the
first two months of the year after warehouse and ground handling operators
reportedly agreed to the proposal of the export sector to hike the surcharge
on imported goods instead of levy an export surcharge.
The Export Development Council (EDC) has indefinitely shelved debates on the
imposition of the export surcharge after industry stakeholders came to such
an agreement, according to a reliable source.
At the last EDC hearing, exporters stood firm on their position against the
export surcharge, saying this will make Philippine exports uncompetitive at
a time when it is gaining ground in the international market. The Philippine
peso is at its strongest in six years. As of December 27, it closed at
P49.195 to a US$1.
Meetings have already been deferred indefinitely as both operators and exporters
already agreed to levy the extra cost on imports, the source who requested
anonymity told PortCalls.
Exporters really wanted the surcharge levied on imported cargoes and not on
exports as this will douse cold water on the growing competitiveness
(of Philippine exports) in the international market, the source explained.
He added that warehouse operator People's Aircargo and Warehousing Inc.
GlobeGrounds PAGS (Pairpags) will submit such a proposal to the Bureau of
Customs (BOC) for approval. Import rates are regulated by the BOC.
Pairpags initially requested a more than 30% increase in the export service
charge due to increasing export-related expenses.
It said revenues from imports, which have been subsidizing export expenses
in the past several years, may no longer be relied on as imports have been
down in the past two years.
Based on the original petition, operators are requesting that air cargo
above 100 kilos carry an additional 33% export surcharge from the current
P0.51 per kilo to P0.68 per kilo, and air cargo below 100 kilos, an
additional 35% from P0.34 per kilo to P0.46 per kilo.
The surcharge should have been implemented by operators starting June 1
last year but this was deferred to September to give freight forwarders
ample time to inform their clients about the change.
The date has, however, been pushed back several times after the operators'
failure to justify to exporters the need for such a surcharge.
DHL looking beyond electronics industry for growth in 2007
SEEING no improvement in other markets aside from the
semi-conductor and electronics industry, DHL Express Philippines is
looking at tapping new markets for growth.
Country manager Lawrence Llamzon, in an interview, said DHL is
looking at the mining, services, and agriculture sectors as well as
the high-end export market.
I think DHL Express will grow much faster when we tap these new markets.
There are a lot of potentials in the mining and services industries as
very few service providers have tapped them, Llamzon said.
DHL expects to corner about 50% of the new markets when it starts servicing
them toward the second quarter of the year.
We are very upbeat about these new prospects and we pegged our growth
expectation for 2007 by 30%-40% higher than our 2006 target. However,
the bulk of our growth will still come from the electronics industry
where we expect to grow 10% higher than the market, Llamzon explained.
DHL Express Phils is on target to hit its 30% to 35% 2006 growth goal,
thanks to the strong electronics industry and the retail market.
Such expected growth is 10% more than its projected growth for 2005 and
despite the adverse effects of the imposition of the value-added tax and
volatile fuel prices this year.
In 2005, DHL outgrew the market by more than 10% due to the strong
performance of the country's electronic sector, which compensated
for the lower-than-expected performance from other sources such as
financial servicing and shared services like call centers.
For 2007, DHL Express Phils will invest heavily in the development of
its retail outlets, launching 11 servicepoints. It is also looking
at establishing two more gateways, one in Luzon (Subic, Clark or Tarlac)
and another in the South (Davao).
DHL sees fuel prices remaining a key issue in 2007, but does
not see any major price swings.
It also expects the semi-conductor and electronics industry doubling its
performance in 2006 and the express industry growing by 3% and 6% of the
country's gross domestic product.
THE Federation of Asean Shippers Council (FASC) is pushing
for the immediate integration of economies of the 10-member Association of
Southeast Asean Nations (Asean) to facilitate trade and corner more foreign
direct investments (FDIs).
Philippine Shippers' Bureau director Atty. Pedro Vicente Mendoza, who is also
FASC vice chair, told PortCalls the association is keen on seeing an
integration of Asean economies which will allow market forces to dictate
the movement of trade as what's happening in Europe.
He said that with the exception of the liner group, all other FASC members
have agreed to set a target in line with that set by Asean leaders to
integrate their economies. Asean leaders eye full economic integration
in 2015.
FASC will discuss developments on integration at the Global Shippers Forum this year.
The integration of the Asean economies is needed to compete with other Asian
powerhouses like China and India and to attract more FDIs, experts stressed
at the preliminaries of the postponed Asean Business Summit last month.
Individually, Asean countries may be too small to be noticed by investors in
North America and Europe, but their combined population of 500 million may be
attractive enough to divert attention from China, especially for businesses
in the consumer sector, Graeme Maxton, regional director, corporate
network-Hong Kong of the Economist Intelligence Unit said.
K Line Air Service (KLAS) recently held its 2nd national
sales department (NSD) meeting in Hong Kong. The NSD gathering complemented
the global network meeting and focused on measures that will ensure KLAS hits
its 300% five-year income target beginning 2006.
The group expects higher volumes with the merger of ”K’ Logistics, whose
expertise is ocean service and brokerage, and KLAS, which specializes in
airfreight.
KLAS USA prepared the layout for import and export markets around the globe,
and created the NSO project to develop more traffic across every station of
the ”K’ Line Logistic Group.The NSD meeting was attended by KLAS Phils
officials April Coching-Lim (vice president-Marketing) and Martha
Castillo (Customer Service assistant manager).
KLAS Phils officials April Coching-Lim
(vice president-Marketing), second from right, and Martha Castillo
(Customer Service assistant manager), fourth from right, at the
KLAS national sales department meeting in Hong Kong.
