To cope, they said exporters, particularly small firms, should "cluster" to attract buyers. The government, meanwhile, must allow the peso to depreciate to lower levels.

"One of the bright spots ... is the deepening economic integration of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) region in addition to the trade agreements forged between ASEAN ... and China, Japan, and Korea," Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. President Sergio R. Ortiz Luis, Jr. told the forum.

"For one, the ASEAN-China FTA (free trade agreement) offers ASEAN countries an opportunity to ride on China’s fast economic growth."

China provides a market of 1.7 billion consumers and is flush with $2 trillion in gross domestic product, Mr. Ortiz-Luis noted.

A recently approved trade deal with Japan, the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement, will likewise boost trade, he said.

Exporters can also take heart in knowing that Chinese manufacturers may no longer be able to offer very low-priced goods as wage hikes and state-ordered employee benefits are causing input costs to rise, Mr. Ortiz-Luis added.

But he conceded that the challenges brought on by the weakening world economy were "real".

University of the Philippines economist Benjamin E. Diokno said exports would certainly take a hit as many of the country’s main markets were expected to post slower growth or even a decline in output.

"You look at our top trading partners and they are going to perform worse next year," Mr. Diokno said. "The Philippine export sector is facing formidable challenges in the next two years."

The economies of the US, Japan, China, the Netherlands, Singapore, Korea, Taiwan and Malaysia — the country’s main markets — will slow down next year, he said.

As such, Mr. Diokno called on the government to consider pegging the exchange rate to P55 to a dollar to make exports cheaper for buyers abroad.

Such a move will also boost the purchasing power of overseas Filipino workers’ families and pump-prime the economy without coursing the funds through the government, he added.

Microenterprises, and small- and medium-sized firms are meanwhile advised to gather together as such clustering makes it easier to attract buyers, Monde-Nissin Biscuit Philippines export manager Ferdinand T. Chanpongco said.

For instance, Biscuit Philippines, a group of some 10 biscuit manufacturers, joined Monde-Nissin in 2003 in a bid to find more foreign buyers.

"We’re united and easy to tap," Mr. Chanpongco said, explaining that a buyer is more likely to consider Philippine goods if many brands are presented as options at one time.