Exports growing strong but not spread out — traders

Local traders said the recent strong showing of local exports does not mean an overall recovery for the entire sector since the growth is not spread out.

Furniture makers, thus, have called on the government to continue supporting exporters, particularly in marketing their products abroad, to achieve steady revenue growth.

Rashmi Tolentino-Singh, vice president for industry relations of the Chamber of Furniture Industries of the Philippines (CFIP), made this call despite the 37.7-percent rise in merchandise exports during the first half of 2010.

“Yes, it (growth) has improved but it is not spread out. If you have a hundred exporters, is it the hundred that brought up the export figure or is it just three of them who made that difference?” she asked.

With this, Singh said industry players need continued assistance for their trade show participations abroad, for bringing in internationally-known designers and marketing consultants in the country and finance second-level designers training in the countryside.

“While we work with our own designers, we have to work also with designers of other countries for us to know what they are really buying,” she reasoned.

She said that the sector needs to partner with the government particularly the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Trade and Industry playing the major role.

Singh particularly cited the country’s participation in the Frankfurt fair in Germany wherein local firms were distributed in different locations, while companies from China and Thailand were grouped in one big pavilion.

The latter firms also got subsidies from their governments when they promote their products abroad, she added.

“We did not look pitiful there but we could have a better presentation, we could build a better image, we could brand ourselves more effectively if the government and the private sector work hand-in-hand,” she stressed.

And as the sector’s growth remains erratic, Singh said this is an opportunity for industry players to intensify product and material development especially for wood furniture.

“We also need to look at other non-traditional markets. We have been saying this for the past seven years. I think now, we are really driven to it,” she said. –Daily Tribune