Exporters brace for a tougher battle

As the Philippine currency goes weaker everyday against the greenback slowly giving strength to the exporters, industry players are however, preparing for a tougher battle ahead.

"Our fight now is no longer against the foreign exchange movement but rather we aim to always be ahead in the market. Mag-unsa man ang [good] exchange rate, if we don't have orders," said PhilExport-Cebu president Jay Y. Yullavos in a press conference yesterday.

Yuvallos said the pressure of competition is getting much tougher, despite the P46 to P47 exchange rate. The world market is constantly changing, and what the exporters need to put focus on now, is not on trailblazing the peso value to the US dollar movement, but on providing strong marketing "ammunition" in order for exporters to understand the different styles, and cultures of various markets around the world.

He said exporter-survivors who managed to maintain their businesses amid the very difficult business environment, specifically when the peso went up to as high as P34 to a US dollar, at the same time facing the bleak orders from the United States, have (somehow) learned their lessons "the hard way."

Already, the greenback appreciated against the local currency by 17.5 percent when the peso tumbled down to P47 starting last week, the lowest exchange rate in a year as a result of the surging US currency and importers' big demand for it.

It is high-time for exporters to make structural changes, significantly on deep marketing framework, understanding the culture and lifestyle of specific consumer, rather than complaining, or focusing on the foreign exchange problem, which is largely a market driven phenomenon, Yuvallos who owns a big furniture exporting plant in Mactan Island said.

"The fight for us now has shifted, instead for putting weight on exchange rate advocacy, now exporters will step to higher level focus, in equipping companies to withstand whatever challenges [we may face] ahead," he added.