Philippines set to be new Tiger Economy - Book Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles

A new book tracking the progress of developing countries sees the Philippines joining an elite group of "tiger economies" in the world as a result of reforms and strong leadership of President Benigno Aquino III.

The book "Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles," written by Ruchir Sharma, assessed the Philippines as one of the strongest emerging economies in the future where enhanced economic activities are to take place.

"Now at long last, the Philippines looks poised to resume a period of strong growth.

The new President, Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III, probably has enough support, and looks likely to generate just enough reform momentum, to get the job done. The Aquino name is still virtually synonymous with the promise of change," Sharma wrote.

Sharma, one of the world's largest investors in emerging markets for Morgan Stanley, said Filipinos saw Aquino as an honest figure who could deliver on the Aquino mandate for change and that the public was desperate after nine years of drift and decay under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Aquino won the presidency at a time when it seemed that the whole country was in disrepair, he said, adding the President is delegating power to competent technocrats and seems to understand what needs to be done to get the country move forward.

In a recent Wall Street Journal report, the publication sees the Philippines having clear signs of being seen as one of the most resilient economies in a troubled global economy particularly as a result of the European crisis.

In a supplement entitled "Asia's Euro Risk: How Asia Will Fare if Europe Cracks?," the Wall Street Journal said only four economies were projected to have the strength to weather a European economic and financial crisis, namely Australia, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.

While other countries bear the brunt of the European fall out, these countries have deep government pockets that provide a buffer to economic shocks, the publication said.

"The Philippines is better prepared than in the past to withstand a downturn with a stronger government balance sheet and a robust domestic economy. Foreign reserves are high enough to fight capital flight," according to WSJ's brief assessment of the Philippines.

Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam are among the Southeast Asian countries affected by a euro meltdown because of their high dependencies on European trade and greater exposure to European banks, WSJ said.

The Philippines had the second highest per capita income in Asia during the 1960s, next only to Japan. In the 1970s, South Korea and Taiwan overtook the Philippines in terms of per capita income. Other Asian neighbors like Malaysia, Thailand, China and Indonesia followed during the succeeding decades.

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USA Welcomes Philippine Banana after Ban from China over Scarborough Standoff

Rotting of million dollars worth of world famous Philippines Banana in the Farms in Davao will end so soon after USA Government gives a go signal to import Philippines banana and export potatoes to the Philippines.

Philippine dependency to China as a main export market for banana found a big mistake after china imposed ban for all imported banana from the Philippines due to the Scarborough Shoal Standoff between the 2 countries.

China use an alibi of pest issue for Philippines bananas which later found out as inappropriate allegation because China Government mentioned a bug which could only possibly live to coconuts only and not to bananas.

China did the same thing to Norway last year (2011) when both countries encountered political trouble, china also imposed ban to the products from Norway.

USA as Philippines ally both economy and Military

The Philippines and United States governments are working on a bilateral agreement on agricultural produce after a go-signal was given to export volumes of local bananas to the American market.

"The final stage is the bilateral signing between the governments to formalize our export of bananas to the United States," said Clarito Barron, director of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry.

The new export market for Philippine bananas, one of the country's top dollar earners, was confirmed recently by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala. According to Alcala, the phytosanitary check of the crop has been completed and the parties have been discussing the logistics of the export process.

The government has directed the agriculture department to eye new markets for the local crop after the Chinese government recently blocked the entry of Philippine bananas to their market over concerns of pest contamination.

Barron said he hoped the Philippines would be able to export bananas to the US mainland and territories "within the year." If the deal pushes through, this would be the first time that local bananas will be sold in the United States.

In exchange for the US allowing the entry of local bananas to its market, the United States wants the Philippines to allow the importation of more American potatoes and vegetables, Barron said.

According to the agriculture official, importers of American-farmed vegetables bring in minimal amounts of produce—between 250 and 500 kilos—to the Philippines. The vegetables are usually intended for high-end clients like hotels and restaurants, he said.

"We are asking that our bananas be sent to them. They are asking us to import potatoes and semi-temperate vegetables like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower… they would like to increase the volume, not only for the high-end consumers but for the whole market," he said.

Barron said both countries were still in the middle of discussions on pest risk analysis of the banana crops.

Barron said the Philippines also has to convince the United States that it would follow strict plant quarantine protocols for its crops. After this, officials of both countries will set up talks with the stakeholders in the US market, he said.

"Hopefully, if there are no problems this year, the US government will be opening up their market to our bananas," he said.

Negotiations between the two countries on the export of fresh bananas to the mainland, which started in December 2005, were stalled due to quarantine and phytosanitary issues.

Meanwhile, Barron revealed that the Philippines is eyeing new markets for its tropical fruits, even as it has started reaching out to 13 countries.

He said the agriculture department has written letters to countries like Russia, the Netherlands, Indonesia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Pakistan to take a look at Philippine bananas. The Philippine government hopes that new markets for the produce would keep the industry afloat after it was hit by the Chinese embargo and strict quarantine protocols.

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