DTI: Electronics exporters must diversify, add value

Diversified electronics, value-added processes and non-voice outsourced services are the future markets of Philippine exports, according to the Department of Trade and Industry. Technology-driven exports can stay competitive by integrating value-added process to their current operations, Bureau of Export Trade Promotion director Senen Perlada said in a forum, organized by the Center for Philippine Futuristics Studies and Management, on Tuesday. Perlada also said the export market is looking for diversified products that address emerging and new needs. He said exporters of electronics which will go through finishing processes have the opportunity to become more competitive. He said the strategy of the DTI is to attract countries where further processing of Philippine exports is done, "and to get them to migrate those industries to the Philippines, so that we will have the value-adding done here." However, with semiconductors making up about 72 percent of electronics exports, Perlada said, “There is not much more that we can do there. The world market share of the Philippines in electrical and electronic equipment is less than one percent." "Our strategy for electronics is to get more investments to the industry either by way of expansion or new investments," he added. Non-voice BPO services According to Perlada, the country's services exports are growing by 25 percent every year and were valued at $8.9 billion in 2010. "The IT-BPO industry has been showing initial signs of diversification already," Perlada noted. "As the market grows, the composition is expected to evolve. Non-voice, especially, will be a key growth area." Perlada said prospects for the IT-BPO industry are bright. He sees it growing in size, becoming comparable to the IT/Engineering Services Outsourcing industry by 2016. But there is a hindrance to that growth. "We don't have enough qualified skilled workers, but we are doing something about it by training more people with appropriate skills for the industry," Perlada assured. — ELR/VS, GMA News