GTEB: Small firms got export quotas

Small and region-based garments exporters have gained more than half the allocation for export quotas to the US market for the year 2000 for the highly critical garment items, executive director Felicitas Agoncillo-Reyes of the Garments and Textile Export Board (GTEB) said yesterday.

Small firms won more than 50 percent of the allocable balances compared to big companies in most of the categories considered highly critical, which includes cotton and/or synthetic knitted shirts; trousers, pants and shorts; nightwear; skirts; and sweaters.

The small firms obtained 51 percent of the allocable balance in knitted shirts; 55 percent in synthetic knitted shirts; 54 percent in cotton trousers, pants and shorts; 61 percent in synthetic trousers, pants and shorts; 39 percent in cotton/synthetic night wear; 51 percent in cotton/synthetic skirts; and 43 percent in cotton sweaters.

Results also showed that region-based companies obtained a greater share of the allocation compared to those based in the national capital region.

Firms in the regions got 64 percent of the allocable balance in cotton knitted shirts; 52 percent in synthetic knitted shirts; 58 percent in cotton trousers, pants and shorts; 62 percent in synthetic trousers, pants and shorts; 31 percent in cotton and synthetic nightwear; and 55 percent in cotton sweaters.

Reyes said the allocation of quotas complied with guidelines approved by the GTEB board. The guidelines were endorsed by the private sector-led advisory council composed of CONGEP, GBAP, FOBAP, PAEA and TMAP as fair, equitable, and performance-based.

Reyes said that quotas that were once available through an over-the-counter (OTC) weekly scheme were included in the annual allocation. GTEB had replaced the OTC to improve transparency and to eliminate speculative trading of quotas.

The allocation system used for quota year 2000 was a simplified version of existing rules subscribed to by the industry. Allocations were computed based on local value-added and past performance with firms receiving a pro-data share of the total allocation.

Volume of applications was 10 times more than what was available to allocate. As a result, no firm got more than what they applied for, Reyes said.