April 22, 2011, 1:00am
MANILA, Philippines -- The recent disaster in Japan has impacted on the operations of Japanese companies in the Philippines particularly the delays for both exports and imports.
A survey by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) revealed that the effect on exports from the Philippines can be seen based on the stagnation of baggage at Narita.
Another impact is the difficulty in the procurement of goods and materials, which was the general consensus among companies importing from Japan.
The survey also revealed that Japanese companies in the country have experienced difficulty in transacting business with their headquarters in Japan due to the impact of the disaster in addition to the reduction in orders and production.
The hotel, tourism and transportation industries had suffered reduction in travel and booking cancellations.
The surveyed showed that 11 percent of the Japanese companies believed that the disaster has no impact in their operations.
On the other hand, 4.3% percent of the companies say that the current impact is still unknown.
Most of the Japanese companies operating here had the difficulty in the procurement of goods and materials.
An overwhelming number of manufacturing companies commented that due to the delay in production in Japan, the supply of goods and materials would slow down.
The difficulty in procuring goods and materials was directly related to the reduction in orders and production.
Within the manufacturing industry, a few companies were more optimistic with regards to their outlook for alternative production and an increase in the demand for reconstruction in Japan.