DTI-DdO targets potential market opportunities in Free Trade Areas Fitch revises ‘23 global growth forecast to 2%

Fitch Ratings revised its global economic growth forecast for 2023 to 2% from 1.4%, saying growth expectations for this year improved during the past three months.

“Global growth prospects for 2023 have improved significantly since December,” the rating agency said Friday in its latest Global Economic Outlook report.

It added, however that the “impacts of rate hikes on the real economy still lie ahead and are likely to push the US economy into recession later this year.”

Some of the reasons behind the improvement in growth prospects are China abandoning the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and European natural gas crisis easing significantly in recent months, according to the agency.

“The US economy has more near-term momentum than we anticipated, with robust employment and consumption growth at the start of the year. Household income growth is holding up and savings buffers built up in the pandemic will support spending for a while,” it added.

Fitch, however, said it lowered global economic growth estimate for 2024 to 2.4% from 2.7% due to “lagged impact” of rapid interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB).

TheDepartment of Trade and Industry (DTI) here is set to conduct its annual Exporter’s Forum today, March 14 at Café Noventa, Poblacion, Nabunturan.

“Central banks are now taking away the punchbowl quite quickly. It is only a matter of time before the impact on the real economy becomes much more visible,”

Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings, said in a statement.

The agency said it forecasts the Fed funds rate to peak at 5.5% and the ECB’s main refinancing operations rate at 4% this June, which are upward revisions of 50 and 100 basis points, respectively, since Fitch’s forecasts made in December.

“Monetary tightening is taking longer to slow US demand than expected, but we believe that 525 basis points of rate rises in just 15 months will ultimately weigh heavily on activity,” according to the agency.

Fitch said it still forecasts a recession in the US starting in the third quarter of this year, which is a few months after the peak in Fed funds rate. (Anadolu)

Being one of the emerging provinces in Region 11, Davao de Oro has been consistent in its placement as one of the highly competitive provinces in the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI). This has been manifested by the province’s growth in investments, the surge in new businesses despite the pandemic, and the increase in jobs created.

Relatively, the province is also a constant contributor to the net exports of the region. The report of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) for the second semester of 2022 shows that Davao de Oro’s total export volume reached 65,119.73 metric tons (MT), valued at around USD 84.72 million. The top commodity being exported to the Middle East, the ASEAN Region, and countries like Japan, China, Singapore, and Korea are fresh bananas.

With the forum entitled “Exporter’s Forum: Doing Business in Free Trade Areas”, DTI aims to expand the current market of local producers and suppliers. It also intends to take a closer look at various free trade agreements in existing and new Free Trade Areas (FTA) as well as update existing and potential exporters on the various opportunities included in the free trade agreements that they could maximize.

DTI Davao de Oro provincial director lawyer Lucky Siegfred M. Balleque weighed in and highlighted that various free trade agreements entered into by the Philippines will be presented by none other than officials from the Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR).

“The presentation of the PhilFDTI-DDO, P10