The Philippines, through the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is set to send a trade mission to Indonesia this month in a bid to sustain the Davao-General Santos-Bitung roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) operations and expand trade with the neighboring country.
DTI said it is supporting the Davao Chamber of Commerce and the Indonesian Consulate in Davao in organizing the upcoming trade mission to Jakarta and Manado scheduled September 4-8.
“Sustaining the Ro-Ro operations, launched in April this year by President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, is high on the agenda of DTI,” Trade and Investments Promotion Undersecretary Nora Terrado said in a statement.
“We want to see the sustained operations of the shipping service so our local entrepreneurs, particularly our small and medium enterprises in Mindanao, could begin to reap the gains from enhanced connectivity between Mindanao and Sulawesi, and the greater BIMP-EAGA region,” Terrado added.
The new shipping route is an endeavor under the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) as well as the ASEAN RoRo Project.
The Philippine business delegation, composed of government representatives and local entrepreneurs from Davao, will focus on building networks and partnerships with Indonesian companies in the areas of trading, joint venture agreements, joint production schemes, and other forms of strategic partnerships.
The delegation includes companies and organizations such as Eagle Multi-purpose Cooperative, Mindanao Agriplus Corp., Certuso Structural Specialists Corp., Halal Business Council, Aleson Shipping Lines, Inc., and Fastcargo Logistics Corp.
Indonesian Consul General Berlian Napitupulu earlier said the potential for the ro-ro service is present “but you have to have somebody to consolidate the cargo both sides, in Indonesia and Mindanao.”
The service has been put on hold a few weeks after its launch due to low volumes. Service operator Asian Marine Transport Corp. is considering replacing the 500-TEU ship it used in the maiden voyage with a vessel of only 100 containers in capacity.
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