DTI eyes launch of PHL-Indonesia Roro vessel maritime export link
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is eyeing the completion of a roll-on/roll-off (Roro) vessel system that would directly bring Philippine exports to Indonesia, an export official said on Thursday.
According to Deputy Executive Director of the Export Development Council (EDC) Emarita Mijares, the Philippines-Indonesia Roro link is expected to hold its maiden voyage by the end of this semester.
“The Roro will be beneficial to the Philippines because these kinds of exports are not only beneficial to the exporters but they will be beneficial to the buyers, the consumers and the Filipino masses,” Mijares said in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Information session.
The vessel will be transporting processed food and other consumer products from its port in Davao to Bitung, Indonesia. Mijares said although the projected export revenues cannot be quantified yet, the Philippines expects the “good figures” on the account of the large population in Bitung.
“Our first objective now is to make Davao a hub for the flow of imports-exports in Indonesia,” Mijares said.
The EDC director also said that the same type of Roro system would be developed in Subic for the countries north of the Philippines. This Subic Roro is set to export car parts and electronics in China, Korea, Japan and other parts of Asia.
This new export transportation system is part of the country’s preparation for the realization of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) that will integrate the Southeast Asian nations into a single market and production base by 2015.
In line with this, the DTI organized a series of information session for exporters, distributors, traders, customs brokers, freight forwarders, members of academe and other government agencies to increase awareness, as well as to “foster economic appreciation” for the benefits of AEC and other Philippine FTAs.
The Philippines is a signatory to six Asean FTAs with China, Korea, India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The country also has a bilateral FTA with Japan, the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.
Source: http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/
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