-
The Philippine Export Development Plan has been approved by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
-
The plan defines the country’s export thrusts, strategies, programs, and projects in keeping with the Export Development Act of 1994
-
The PEDP is a blueprint for boosting local industries in the next five years to position the country as a potential exporting hub, according to Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual
The Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) has been approved by President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., according to Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.
In a press briefing on June 6, Pascual said the PEDP 2023-2028 was discussed with Cabinet officials during a sectoral meeting earlier in Malacañang.
“We presented to the President the proposed Philippine Export Development Plan, which DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) formulated pursuant to the Export Development Act of 1994,” Pascual said.
A blueprint for boosting local industries to position the country as a potential exporting hub, the plan “defines the country’s export thrusts, strategies, programs, and projects, and we sought the President’s approval, which we got with just some couple of additions to the plan,” the trade chief said.
The PEDP has identified priority industry clusters – industrial machinery and transport; technology, media, and telecommunications; and health and life sciences.
It aims to narrow the Philippines’ widening trade deficit, a result of being traditionally a predominantly importing rather than exporting country.
Philippine Statistics Authority data for March 2023 showed the country’s trade deficit at US$4.927 billion after its exports dropped 9% year-on-year. Of the Philippines’ total external trade in March, 63.7% comprised imported goods, while the rest were exported goods, PSA said.
Pascual said the PEDP aims to address challenges that various sectors of the economy face, particularly those that are involved in exports or could potentially be in the exporting business.
“Our proposal is actually in line with the Philippine Development Plan, which was earlier released by the Administration,” he added.
“This export development plan will capitalize on export growth opportunities considering market trends, and the available or existing competencies in the Philippines, among our industries. It seeks to undertake an industry development-centric approach to make the Philippines a major player in the global economy and achieve sustainable development goals.”
The trade secretary said the PEDP would be key to improving the country’s export industry, as the Philippines lags its Southeast Asian neighbors in exporting its products.
“So we must develop reliable, design-driven, technology-driven, sustainable, and forward-looking exporters to become or to make the Philippines an agile export powerhouse. As you may know, the Philippines is lagging behind our neighboring countries when it comes to exports,” Pascual said.
“We can consider ourselves as laggards currently, so this plan will help us uplift the government’s, or… the Philippines’ performance in exports. It may not …yet match the levels achieved by the more progressive neighbors that we have, but it will certainly improve the volume of our exports,” he added.
The country exports electronic products, vehicle wiring sets, machinery, chemicals, and coconut oil, among other items, but it has also been dependent on food imports despite being basically an agricultural economy.
The Philippines’ total value of agricultural imports in the fourth quarter of 2022 rose 13.9% year-on-year to US$4.77 billion from $4.18 billion in Q4 2021, according to PSA data. In Q4 2022, agricultural imports made up 14.9% of the country’s total imports.
Even so, Pascual remained bullish that the plan can make local enterprises competitive in the global market. He said the government would closely work with companies that show export potential in identifying challenges.
He said those companies that are “cresting” and still at the “ripple stage” would secure a “significant amount of support” from the government to boost their production and product quality, as well as increase their skilled manpower.
“The competitiveness of the Philippines lies in the competitiveness of the firms themselves. We are laggards because we have firms that are not able to come up with the quantity and quality of exportable products,” Pascual said.
