Puno urges government to expand exports to world’s richest markets

Former Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ricardo "Dong" Puno Jr. said the Philippines should take advantage of a fresh Group of Seven initiative that encourages more exports from the developing countries.

The G7 finance ministers, in a recent meeting in Palermo, Italy, agreed on two poverty reduction measures – a reaffirmation of their commitment to a debt relief initiative for poor countries, and an ambitious strategy that would include, among other things, further opening of their markets to exports from the third world.

The G7 member nations are the United States of America, United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Canada and Japan.

Major Philippine exports include semi-conductors and electronic micro-circuits, which accounted for 42.24 percent of the total merchandise exports in the first half of 2000; garments, 6.7 percent; ignition wiring sets, 1.54 percent; canned pineapple, bananas and plantains, 1.12 percent; and manufactured products, 0.93 percent.

Two of the G7 members are already major trading partners of the Philippines. In 1999, the United States and Japan accounted for about $10.4 billion and $4.7 billion, respectively, of the Philippines’ total export trade.

Puno, a Laban senatorial candidate, said taking a bold approach to penetrate the G7 export market, if successful, would not only accelerate the country’s economic growth, but also create more job opportunities for the Filipino work force.

He called on the government to develop a program that would provide assistance to domestic enterprises, particularly those with export potentials.

Towards that end, he said the government, for example, could organize or participate in trade fairs here and abroad to promote the country’s agricultural produce, industrial products or handicrafts for export.

Puno also said the government should prepare for a knowledge-based economy by encouraging the setting up of information technology parks.