The Department of Trade and Industry has seen the opportunities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Davao Region to take part in the business and trade in the East Asian Growth Area (EAGA) by increasing their participation in the value chain .
Guesting in one of the editions of the radio program Sayron Ta! Pakigsayod: Serbisyo Alang sa Katawhang Pilipino, Philippine Chairperson to the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines (BIMP) EAGA for SME Working Group, Romeo Castanaga said bringing the SMEs as part of the supply chain in the growth area, enhances their position of gaining a global market, than exporting alone.
“Pero kung isa sya ka participante sa global value chain, supplier kaba ug raw material , supplier kaba ug sa logistics or supplier kaba ug any services, so directly or indirectly participante ka ana nga global value chain. (But if it is a participant to a global chain, for instance as supplier of a raw material, supplier of logistics or supplier of any service, directly or indirectly, it can participate in the global value chain),” he explained.
As the connectivity of key areas within BIMP-EAGA were starting to open, Castanaga said the SME could again expand their business ventures, taking advantage of business matching that DTI had done at the height of the pandemic, as a leverage in identifying business prospects.
On the other hand, Castanaga had seen the presence of two special economic zones (ecozone) in Davao del Norte as an opportunity for the SMEs to supply materials, goods and services to the ecozone locators.
Castanaga was referring to the Hijo Resources Industrial Estate in the City of Tagum and the Anflo Industrial Estate in Panabo City.
He said DTI can link the local SMEs to these ecozone locators in terms of sourcing raw materials. “So instead of looking for what they need from other areas, our SMEs would be providing them what they need,” Castanaga explained. (PIA XI/ Jean Duron Abangan)
