DZME 1530khz Radyo Uno Now heard live on the internet! TradeExpress Asia Plus latest news online www.DZME1530.com THE NEWSPAPER FOR GOV'T AND BUSINESS LEADERS SUBSCRIBER'S COPY Vol. III No. 25 January 2007 Manila, Philippines A S&P Publication Unemployed reach 3m MORE than three million generation drive was launched after hand, has also risen to more than 20 By THE TRADEEXPRESS STAFF ballots may yet turn out to be swing Filipinos will remain jobless this year percent from 17 percent three years votes which will seal the fate of Mrs. Arroyo took over as president, and millions more will have only part- ago. And of the unemployed, more alarming. candidates in the May elections. the result is nowhere near the target. time work as the Philippines grapples than half a million are in their early The unemployment problem is To stem the tide of rising In a recent report, the Economic with a simmering unemployment 20s. expected to be among the top issues unemployment, the Arroyo Planning Office of the Philippine problem that may yet turn into a full- In terms of percentage, the which will be thrown at the Arroyo administration has launched a series Senate summed up the mismatch: blown crisis. unemployment rate may not be administration by political of initiatives to provide at least one “From 2003 to 2006, the number Officially, the unemployment immediately shocking but in opponents when the election period million new jobs annually to match of labor entrants grew more rapidly rate stands at just over 8.0 percent absolute terms, an army of three gets underway next month. the number of people who join the than the number of jobs created by on a labor force of about 36 million. million unemployed people roaming Considering that all the labor force every year. However, the economy. During the said Underemployment, on the other urban areas in search of work, is very unemployed are of voting age, their since the one-million-a-year job (Turn to page 2) P125 minimum wage increase seen as crucial issue in polls THE minimum wage increase of P125 daily which was approved by the Lower House of Congress last month is expected to become a hot political issue in the May elections after President Arroyo indicated she would veto the measure if it is adopted by the Senate. The Senate needs to approve the measure before it goes to Malacanang for signing into law. The increase to be spread from 2006 to 2008 in tranches of P45, 40 and P40 is vigorously opposed by the business sector which fears that it would stifle economic growth in the next two years. Workers’ groups, on the other hand, expressed disappointment that the wage hike was staggered instead of being given in full. They said it would not be enough to cope with the rising cost of living in most areas of the country. Members of Congress who are allied with the labor sector are likely SERIOUS PROBLEM. Everyday, thousands of young people queue before recruitment offices looking for work. The scene above is replicated in key areas of Metro Manila as (Turn to page 3) well as factories in the Calabarzon area. The idle workforce is expected to swell when hundreds of thousands of graduates finish college next month. SMUGGLING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS TradeExpress marks second China tagged main source of contraband year of service CHINA has been identified as meats and raw meats such as pork member of the OIE, also known as left out in monitoring incoming THE little paper that says a lot the main source of smuggled and poultry. the World Organization for Animal shipments because they have no is now two years old, and going agricultural products which pose a Local producers reported that Health. jurisdiction over imports that are not strong. serious threat to the viability of the continued inflow of smuggled Trade Express Asia learned that declared as agricultural products. TradeExpress Asia burst into domestic producers. goods was responsible for to evade quarantine inspection, Imports of agricultural the scene in January 2005 without Agricultural products which depressed prices of their products most shipments are usually declared products such as pork and poultry fanfare. Our first headline read, find their way into the local market resulting in huge losses for the as non-agricultural products such have been banned because of ‘More choices, cheaper prices’ – an without payment of proper taxes and sector last year. as plastic items and other consumer occurrences of foot and mouth analytical look at the economic clearance from quarantine officials Sources said that local goods although they are shipped disease and avian flu in China. benefits Filipinos can gain from trade include vegetables, processed authorities are having a hard time in refrigerated containers. However, sources noted that liberalization. The inside pages monitoring shipments of agricultural Quarantine officials of the imports of meats and vegetables featured a mish-mash of articles one products from China since it is not a department of agriculture are usually (Turn to page 2) wouldn’t normally read in the dailies What's Inside and our readers’ feedback were encouraging. Palau's economy Prices to fall further; inflation at 4-5% Before long, we became ‘the newspaper for government and business leaders’ – and, mind you, in full swing Page 3 PRICES of goods and services mainly to the stronger peso and payments of $72 million to the Asian we didn’t make that claim entirely falling prices of crude in the world are expected to fall further this year Development Bank for various without basis. TradeExpress Asia market. following a sharp decline in the rate loans. is being read in the corridors of Opening of inflation to a record 4.3 percent Other developments: - External debt dropped slightly government, in the offices of last month in what is generally seen - The international reserves of to $54 billion at the end of the third industry leaders and private Page 4 the third eye as a positive indication of how the the Central Bank reached an all-time quarter while the ratio of debt to GNP companies, in hotel lobbies and economy will perform in 2007. high of $23 billion at the end of the fell to 44.5 percent from 50.7 percent airline lounges, as well as by the Government economic year equivalent to 4.4 months of in 2005. diplomatic community, the academe Banks are awash planners forecast the inflation rate imports. Monetary authorities noted and other sectors of society. in 2007 to stabilize in the range of 4- - The Philippines exited from the that the stronger peso should keep In coffee shops and sitting with cash Page 6 5 percent from 6.2 percent last year. IMF program by prepaying loans domestic prices of products with rooms where TEA is available as The low inflation was attributed totaling $220 million, and advancing (Turn to page 3) (Turn to page 10) Published by S&P Strategists Corporation * E-mail: [email protected] / [email protected] * Tels: 634-0270 / 634-6436 * Fax: 634-0275 2 TradeExpress Asia January 2007 Unemployment (From page 1) period, the country’s labor force grew by an average of 2.7 percent, or an additional 925,000 workers every year. “The number of jobs created, on the other hand, averaged only 752,750. This means that every year, 172,000 people are added to the already swollen ranks of the unemployed.” Economic analysts have estimated that to meet the job target, the economy will have to grow 7-8 percent annually. Last year, economic growth was less than 6 percent although it was still within the government’s target for the year. The Senate report noted, however, that the kind of growth that the government should pursue is “one which produces employment for as many people as possible.” It also suggested the adoption of a UN Development Program study that recommended making the agriculture sector the linchpin of the job generation program. TradeExpress Asia! From Virginia Food Inc. The government through Greetings to the department of agriculture has already identified the development of two million hectares of agricultural land which is expected to provide at least two million new jobs. Tapped to spearhead the program are Chinese agribusiness firms which have committed to provide funding and technology to the agricultural sector. Initially, Chinese firms plan to invest up to P9 billion in cassava and sugar plantations to provide raw materials for the production of ethanol. At present, the agriculture sector is the second biggest employer with a labor force of about 12 million, next to services with close to 16 million. China tagged (From page 1) from China still continue. Many restaurants in Metro Manila still offer the specialty Peking duck from China although this has been banned years ago. Local producers have urged the department of agriculture and the Bureau of Customs to conduct a 100 percent inspection on all refrigerated shipments from China. If shipping documents declare that the contents of a refrigerated container are items that don’t need to be refrigerated, then there is something definitely wrong with the importation, a DA official said. As a result, agriculture producers have been lobbying for President Arroyo to revive the anti-smuggling task force to help curb smuggling. They recalled that when the task force was operational, smuggling of agricultural products was effectively checked. However, the task force was abolished following complaints from legitimate importers that it was interfering with the importation process and adding to their cost of business. January 2007 TradeExpress Asia 3 Palau's economy grows by 6% By NAZARIO RODRIGUEZ, JR.