Hope in the export market

By Herbert Vego

ONE obvious reason why our peso has declined in value against the US dollar is because we import more goods than we export. To reverse this downward trend, we need to boost exportation of our native products.

It is by boosting exports that we generate higher foreign currency inflows (like US dollars) and reduce the trade deficit. For when the country sells more goods abroad than it buys, the increased demand for the peso naturally drives up its value against other currencies.

This possibility is what I glean from the good news that a mango grower, the Guimaras Wonders Farm in the province of Guimaras, has just flown its first 100 kilograms of mangoes to Belgium, and is slated to also penetrate three other European countries, namely Germany, France, Spain, and the Netherlands.

Patience pays in this particular venture.  It has been three years since the cited company worked for the accreditation of its Guimaras-grown mangoes for export to Europe.

This should spur other sweet mango growers to target other export destinations.

In fact, Guimaras mangoes have long been well-distributed in Australia. Guimaras is the only province in the Philippines cleared to export fresh mangoes to Australia due to its strict certification as a weevil-free area.

No doubt it’s because the Philippine mango (specifically the Guimaras strain) occupied a niche in the 1995 Guinness Book of World Records as the sweetest mango in the world.

No wonder mango farmers are now among the wealthiest citizens of the Philippines.

What many Filipinos do not know is that, much more than mangoes, fresh pineapples sold in the biggest grocery stores in New Zealand and Australia come from the Dole plantations in Bukidnon and South Cotabato.

You and I are familiar with the story about Filipino entrepreneurs in Cebu who eliminated the risk of selling highly perishable fresh fruits by processing them into freeze-dried versions with protracted expiration dates for added value.

If you are a frequent visitor to other countries, you must have seen these dehydrated fruits – mango, papaya and pineapple, among others – sold at their airports’ duty-free shops.

But, of course, fruits are just one of our products that have the potential to hit the foreign market for exponential profits. Take it from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the most profitable among them are electronic products, which accounts for roughly 45% to 50% of the country’s total annual export revenue. Within this category are semiconductors and integrated circuits.

Sad to admit, however, we miss many of our products that had seen better times abroad but are now gone. I was a child when I saw my late father wearing a local brand of leather shoes that became world-famous for living up to its name, “Ang Tibay,” which literally means “very durable”.

Upon research for this column, I learned that the iconic Philippine footwear used to enjoy high demand in the United States as early as the 1920s.

I also lament the decline of the Marikina shoe industry in Marikina City. Marikina shoes used to be in demand here and abroad. Today, however, due to the industry’s lack of patronage, Marikina shoe makers downgrade themselves by sewing shoes for foreign brands.

Colonial mentality has replaced “patriotism” in the economy.

With that in mind, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched the “Tatak Pinoy” program for manufacturers of good-quality locally-made products.

From now on, according to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, “Tatak Pinoy” seal will be marked on such products, whether for export or for local consumption.

Roque, by the way, hails from Iloilo City. She founded the well-known clothing brand Kamiseta in 1990. It is now a leading specialty manufacturer of women’s casual apparel and cosmetics for local and foreign markets.