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The Department of Trade and Industry is set to study
ways of cushioning the negative effects of the strengthening foreign
exchange on exporters, Trade Secretary Peter B. Favila said
Thursday.
“We have to find ways on how to
help [exporters] because they are basically one of the most
important sectors that bring in dollars to the country,” Favila
said.
Favila said DTI has to look into
four areas to help the exporters remain competitive. “There are
four spending areas that need consultation—labor, raw materials,
taxes and utilities,” he said.
Meanwhile, exporters in
electronics, information technology and jewelry sectors said the
biggest spending areas government has to focus on are tax
bracketing, utility cost (energy cost), wage and expensive raw
materials.
SEIPI official and PSI chairman
and CEO Arthur Young said the strong peso hits the exporters most in
the costs of power and raw materials: “In my company alone, we are
spending more than P25 million a month for electricity. The cost of
power is very substantial and a big part for SEIPI [Semiconductor
& Electronics Industries in the Philippines Inc.] members. We
hope that there is a way to bring it down.”
Being a dollar-currency driven
industry, Young said that raw materials for SEIPI members are also
critical. He said that local producers sell their raw materials more
expensively than the raw products from China.
On the other hand, Emma V.
Teodoro, president of CAI-STA Philippines, Inc., an IT solutions
provider company, said the government should study the salary income
tax:
-- Katrina Mennen A. Valdez
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