ILOILO CITY, Nov. 26 (PNA) — Philippine made products and services are competitive and at par with those of other Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to Secretary Gregory Domingo of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) during a forum here Wednesday.
This city hosted the forum on Industry Roadmaps and the AEC Game Plan: Regional Roadmaps for Competitiveness which is also slated in Cebu City on December 2 and in Davao on December 4, 2014.
Domingo said there are 10 countries in the ASEAN and the Philippines is not left behind in competitiveness with products from other countries already saturating the country stores and malls since 2010.
The Philippines is at par in electronics with Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand while Thailand and Vietnam lead in agricultural production. Philippines is also lagging in the processing industry.
However, Domingo said the Philippines has one big asset which other countries lack severely – proficiency in the English language.
“We have traded goods and services since 2010 and up to 80 percent as trade liberalization is already implemented. We are now on the process of negotiation in areas allowing foreigners to own 70 percent of the lands and businesses,” Domingo said. (PNA)