at the end of your discussion in Rubber 101, you pose the following comment: “Why do we merely export the semi-finished product? Why haven’t we become producers of the final output as well?”

the same situation applies to the coconut industry. why are we exporting copra (in the end being vulnerable to low prices) and not processing and exporting the coconut and its by-products?

a bigger question also begs to be answered and which is along the above lines: why did our manufacturing industry contract since 1998 and i think its size is only now 40% of what it was before? for those in the know among us, we have started asking that question at the start of this century and no answer has been forthcoming from the government.

the answer to the above questions could be as you put it: “…maybe we’re making it too hard for people to start their business, making them run from pillar to post and being forced to pay bribes…” on the other hand, the cost of production here in our country is high such that it is cheaper to send the raw produce abroad and import them back as finished products than to produce them here. to aggravate the situation, our productivity level is low. this is the reason why manufacturers have brought their operations to other countries.

the solutions to the above situations, unfortunately, are structural and policy in nature. as such, these are the purview of the president, the house of representatives and the senate. we do not know now if they have seen the problem, saw it coming and have done anything on it or even done anything preventive to avert the slide of the manufacturing industry. putting a solution to the above problem/situation is what is expected from our leaders. unfortunately, none was forthcoming and i don't think they will realise that they need to solve that riddle.