Govt pushes for P4bn EDD procurement target

On Tuesday, Trade and Industry Minister Dorcas Makgato-Malesu told journalists that of the P2.26 billion in procurement between April and December 2012, 54 percent or P1.2 billion was attributable to local manufacturers and service providers.

Government hopes to raise its procurement from local manufacturers and service providers to P2.5 billion by March 31, 2013 being the end of the 2012/13 financial year. It is also pushing for overall EDD purchases to close at P4 billion from the P2.26 billion as at end of December 2012."I believe that we are doing very well and you can see that there's growth," Makgato-Malesu said. "Our focus is getting that P2.26 billion to P4 billion by April. I will be telling you very soon how these figures have improved on a year on year basis." According to the trade ministry's data, EDD procurement from local retailers reached P780.7 million between April and December 2012, while purchases from foreign suppliers was pegged at P230 million.