KHALEEJ TIMES, Sunday, Aug 29, 2021 | Muharram 21, 1443
UAE-Philippines trade rose 32% ahead of Expo
Emirates:
Ahead of the Expo 2020 Dubai opening this
October, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (PDTI) is optimistic
that the global event would catalyze robust and sustainable increase
in trade exchanges between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates and the
wider Middle East, as bilateral trade between the two nations rose 32 per cent
during the first 5 months of 2021.
The PDTI, the lead implementing agency of the
Philippines’ participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, said the country’s total trade
(export and import) with the UAE crossed Dh1.33 billion ($362 million) for the
period of January to May 2021, with exports valued at Dh411 million ($112
million) and imports at Dh918 million ($250 million).
PDTI Assistant Secretary for the Trade Promotions
Group and PH Expo 2020 Dubai, Alternate Commissioner General Rosvi C. Gaetos
underscored that the forthcoming World Expo is deemed a game-changer in
Philippines-UAE trade relations due to a forecast in the influx of opportunities
and investments during and after the six-month long event, which is projected
to drive increased
revenue in major sectors and industries.
Jobs creation
With more than 190 countries converging in the
Expo — the biggest event ever been held in the Middle East — the Philippines
targets to showcase the very best of its culture, heritage, and technology to
millions of global audiences, in order to draw investors to the country. This
will enable the government to boost the confidence of the global business
community to invest in the Philippines. In turn, it would have a positive impact
on employment.
“During the Expo, the country hopes to strengthen
its trade partnership with the UAE and the greater Middle East region on key
sectors. With the magnitude of global publicity of Expo 2020 Dubai, we are
positive that the Philippine participation will contribute to enhancing
international goodwill for the Philippines and, more im-portantly, create more
interest in the Philippines as a competitive and innovative trade partner. Expo
2020 Dubai will act as a catalyst for Philippines to penetrate the world’s
fastest emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, a region of
more than 3.2 billion people, with a collective GDP of more than Dh24 trillion,”
Gaetos said.
“After Expo 2020 Dubai, the linkages created by
business matching between Philip-pine exporters and foreign businesses will
result to increased economic activities for the Philippines. We foresee that
there will be more employment opportunities back home, especially within the
service sectors like travel, tourism, retail, events, hospitality, construction,
IT-BPM, and logistics,” added Gaetos.
While on the one hand, the Expo is slated to
create thousands of jobs for Filipinos back home in
the Philippines, the event is also expected to initiate a vantage point for
business-oriented Filipinos to set-up their own businesses in the UAE. Filipinos
consti-tute the third-largest expatriate community in the UAE and they are part
of the growing number of investors in the country. Earlier, the PDTI reported a
sizable increase in the number of Filipino businesses in the country. As of June
2021, the number of Filipino businesses in Dubai has reached 792.
More trade exchanges
Charmaine Mignon S. Yalong, Commercial Attaché,
Philippine Trade and Investment Centre — Dubai, said that despite the slump in
global trade transactions last year, Filipino brands showed a strong, steady
presence in mainstream markets in the UAE.
“The Philippines played actively in its trade
relations with the UAE, recording a total trade value of Dh2.6 billion ($705.9
million) in 2020, of which Dh1 billion ($278.34 million) comprise exports and
Dh1.6 billion ($427.52 million) for imported products,” said Yalong.
“With its Expo participation, the Philippines
expects to create more trade exchanges and investment deals in
these areas of exports not only with the UAE, but also with world’s fastest
growing markets to help the economy bounce back rapidly in the post-Covid-19
era,” Yalong added.
The Philippines’ top five exports to the UAE are
inputs or output units (15.30 per cent), bananas (8.62 per cent), pineapple
(7.67 per cent), storage units, and static converters (6.13 per cent).
The Philippines’ top commodity imports from the
UAE are light petroleum oils and preparations (19.4 per cent), butanes (14.8 per
cent), propane, petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals (five
per cent) and generating sets with compression-ignition (five per cent).