New US orders give hope to exporters

CEBU, Philippines – The Gifts, Toys, and Housewares exporters are now seeing an indication of an upswing in the economy as orders are now slowly rebounding specifically from their largest market, the United States.

Cebu-GTH president Ramir Bonghanoy said that since last month, they already noted positive movements in their operations as orders from their clients abroad are slowly coming back in.

“Although it may not be a substantial number or volume, what’s important is that the US people are now starting to order again,” said Bonghanoy.

He stressed though that these orders are not yet that big for their sector to become extra confident.

“Probably, these buyers have sold their past inventories so they are now reordering. Although this volume is not yet big for us to be confident but we see it as a positive indication and a little sign of a possible movement towards recovery although we are not quite sure,” said Bonghanoy.

“We are in a plateau but we are no longer in the survival mode instead we are now under a preparation mode because we are preparing ourselves for the upswing,” he added.

He said that right now, their sector is undergoing a series of upgrading seminars to prepare themselves and their companies for the much anticipated upswing in the global economy.

“Nobody have been spared from the crisis because everybody have been affected but now we talk and discuss a lot about how we can handle and manage the crisis and we also discuss how we can be prepared for the changes in our systems so that we can be ready for the recovery of the economy,” he said.

He said that recovery requires preparedness on the part of exporters because they have to adapt to a lot of changes.

“Recovery requires a lot of changes in our systems and operations but not only in our part as exporters but also on the part of our buyers and our suppliers so that we can sustain whatever it is that we have learned from the big blow that we experienced during the economic crunch,” said Bonghanoy.

He said that their sector has been waiting for the stimulus fund that was allocated by the government to help them manage the crisis.

However, he said that they are not in a hurry to receive their share because they acknowledge the need for transparency in managing the fund and that it must be regulated so that it will be beneficial to all exporters.

Bonghanoy said that right now with the slowdown in the global export marketplace, exporters like them are continuously looking out at several modes to keep their operations and their sector afloat.

“We are now capitalizing on existing core markets. The international market is down so we have looked at the very big potential of the local market and we encouraged our members to participate in local shows,” he said.

He said that Cebu GTH will be participating in the upcoming One Cebu showcase in the Cebu International Convention Center as well as the Exporters’ Expo at the SM Atrium that will both be held this August.

Bonghanoy said that after several deliberations from their member exporters, they now have identified international markets such as Hong Kong and Frankfort in Germany as markets that they continue to see positive movements.

He said that they are still hoping that orders form the US market will keep coming back in especially after buyers have cleared off their old inventories.

“The US have a lot of inventories but they will have to sell and discard their inventories so they will have to order again to continue their business. As of now, we just do a lot of discussions, forums and collaborations as part of our preparations,” said Bonghanoy. —Rhia de Pablo