BusinessWorld Online
HANDICRAFT exporters have been working with the government to come up with new ways to process and use native raw materials in a bid to attract foreign buyers, the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) said in a statement.
Member firms of the Philippine Chamber of Handicraft Industries (PCHI), along with the Bureau of Domestic Trade and the Cottage Industry Technology Center, through a program launched last January, have been studying techniques to process materials like water lilies, tobacco and bamboo for exporters’ use.
The program comes as export sales of basketwork and plaited materials fell by a quarter to $41.991 million last year, National Statistics Office data show.
PCHI Executive Director Ajun L. Valenzuela confirmed this in a phone interview, adding that the program’s output such as home decor, handmade notebooks and footwear using the new materials will be exhibited at the Manila Furnishing and Apparel Exchange fair next month. “Our direction now is to use native materials, because buyers abroad are always looking for something new,” Mr. Valenzuela said in Filipino.
The government is providing the list of raw material suppliers and the techniques while PCHI takes charge of product design and marketing plans, Mr. Valenzuela said. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa