PH Embassy in Jakarta, Consulate General in Manado Draw Together Stakeholders in Davao-Bitung Cross-Border Trade

Consul General to Manado Oscar Orcine reaffirmed before an audience of regulators, investors, and traders the soundness of the proposition that customs and other regulations should not weigh down efforts to promote trade between the Philippines and Indonesia. (Manado PCG photo)

 INDONESIA 28 June 2019 — The Philippine Embassy in Jakarta and the Philippine Consulate General in Manado collaborated with various government agencies in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, led by the Office of the Mayor of Bitung, to bring together stakeholders in the cross-border trade between Davao and Bitung in a meeting on 16 May 2019 that showcased the services of Reefer Express Line Filipinas.

Reefer Express Line is a Philippine company that offers transport solution for shippers in Davao and Bitung, with connections to Malaysia, Brunei, and Vietnam. The company proposes to cut down transit time for goods between Davao and Bitung from three weeks to 1.5 days.

This translates to a reduction of shipping cost from US$2,200 to US$1,600 per 20-foot container, which can be reduced even further as market demand permits. Voyages will be made every two weeks but there are plans to make them as often as once a week when demand for the service picks up.

Market studies show that this shipping service will enable Philippine companies to open markets in Indonesia for such Philippine products as fresh fruits, activated carbon, automotive battery, food stuffs, and animal feeds. In turn, Bitung can supply Philippine market with rubber, seafood, garments, spices, corn, cement, and furniture, among others.

In the meeting held at the Mayor’s Guest House, Bitung Mayor Maximilian Lomban instructed customs, immigration, quarantine, trade, agriculture, fishery, and other relevant officials not to put up regulatory barriers and instead streamline their respective processes with the view of promoting trade, which the Consulate General is keen to encourage and advocate.

For the initial phase, Reefer Philippines will deploy a cargo ship with a capacity of 240 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs). A TEU is a measure of volume in units of twenty-foot long containers. END

Consul General Oscar Orcine (center) is flanked by Bitung Mayor Maximilian Lomban (in dark Batik) and Anelyn Binancilan of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA). Also in the picture are (from left to right) Alexander Villadores Jr. and Jacel Dumlao of Reefer Express Line, Mrs. Khouni Lomban Rawung, Vice Consul Manuel Ayap, and Oswald Ian Dira of Reefer Philippines. (Manado PCG photo)

For more information, visit www.manadopcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinManado/.