DTI hosts crisis management planning for exporters

CEBU, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-7) will gather key players in the export sector in the next few days for a two-day crisis management planning to help exporters “stay above waters.”

DTI-7 Asteria Caberte yesterday said that the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF), Gifts, Toys and Housewares Association of Exporters in Cebu (Cebu-GTH), and the Fashion Accessory Manufacturers and Exporters (FAME) will be the pilot beneficiaries of the management planning.

Caberte said DTI has identified these three sectors in the export industry as the most hard hit by the market demand slowdown.

DTI-7 will be spending about P160 thousand in this endeavor, and will also get help from the German Technical Cooperation’s (GTZ) Small and Medium Enterprise Development for Sustainable Employment Program (Smedsep) program.

“DTI would want to extend help in terms of providing expert’s views, on how to stay above waters on a crisis, and prepare for the upswing,” Caberte said.

She said it is high time for the export industry, specifically in these sectors to do some extensive and effective planning, to prepare themselves, when things get better.

Caberte added that she initiated this program, as she sees the battle now faced by the export players and technical help such as this kind of program, will help them in these times of difficulties.

“We are also doing value chain program to identify areas that will need intervention in the entire industry.

According to Caberte, this program is just part of DTI’s broad assistance package for the export sector, including its huge contribution to the P280 million Export Development Fund (EDF) of which these three sectors have already availed of their share.

While the Department of Tourism (DOT) extended an outright P2 million help to the recently concluded Cebu International Furniture & Furnishings Exhibition or CebuX, she said DTI has been helping the sector ever since.

These three sectors in the export sector had been able to get their funding from the EDF program, through the Export Development Council (EDC).

CFIF for instance, already received the P2.8 million of the P5.6 million approved funding for the organization. FAME, on the other hand, also got its P3.8 million funding. Likewise, GTH-Cebu already received the P1.7 million funding, an initial release to the total approved EDF budget of P3.4 million for the organization.

As the EDF help is strictly used in promotions such as attendance of importance international shows, Caberte said DTI is also extending technical help for these sectors in keeping their businesses amid the discouraging environment.

Caberte hopes that the P1 billion fund for the export sector, which will be coursed through the EDC will be geared towards approving proposals not only for promotional activities, but also in product development (improving designers’ skills), development of new product niches, and exploring new markets like Russia, Brazil and Mexico. — Ehda M. Dagooc