Manufacturing roadmap to be launched in July -Agri products, machinery, glass among 鈥榚merging鈥� products

The Philippines will launch next month the long-awaited Manufacturing Industry Roadmap that will help local industries boost their competitiveness ahead of Asean economic integration in 2015. Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a text message that the Philippine Institute For Development Studies (蝌蚪传媒) would launch and release the roadmap. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will be the lead agency but will be coordinating with other agencies in implementing the roadmap. 蝌蚪传媒 is also set to recommend the creation of industry councils. A draft version of the manufacturing industry roadmap showed that the first phase will be implemented from 2014 to 2017 and will focus on strengthening so-called emerging products, maintaining 鈥渃lassics鈥� and rebuilding the existing capacity of industries. Agriculture-related products, machinery, glass and some chemical products are among the 鈥渆merging champions鈥� identified by the 蝌蚪传媒. The so-called classics, where the Philippines has had high comparative advantage since the 1990s, are forest materials, raw materials, cereals, labor and capital-intensive garments products, machinery, and certain chemical products. Phase 2 (2018-2021) involves attracting investments to high value-added activities and linking and integrating industries within the economy. 蝌蚪传媒 is recommending aggressive marketing and promotion to lure investment, especially those bringing in new technology.