The Philippines surpassed its target as it generated over US$462 million worth of onsite export sales from 40 healthy food products in the country’s hybrid participation in the third China International Import Expo (CIIE).
The delegation under the FOODPhilippines banner led by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), participated in the international expo held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China from November 5 to 10, 2020.
CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan said the total export sales include the $455.689-million worth of export deals from signings and commitments, as well as $6.17-million worth of onsite booked sales and business matching activities organized by the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and Food2China.
Suaco-Juan said it exceeded their target $160 million export sales, which includes $31 million from onsite floor sales, for this year’s participation wherein FOODPhilippines conducted a mix of physical exhibit and virtual showcase.
With the theme “Healthy and Natural,” this year’s participation featured 40 Philippine companies that showcased a range of tropical fruits, processed fruits and vegetables, healthy snacks, seafood and marine products, and other premium food selections.
“Our showcase has been a success given that this is the first hybrid participation of FOODPhilippines and the first time we focused on food products in CIIE,” said Suaco-Juan. “We already hit our target with our initial sales tally and we expect more sales as negotiations and commitments from the event come to fruition in the coming weeks.”
China firms to purchase over $455M worth of PH fruits
One of the major commitments made during the Philippines’ participation in CIIE was the signing of a procurement letter of intent from Sinopec North Energy (Dalian) Co., Ltd. with Eng Seng Food Products to purchase $245 million worth of young coconut and dried fruit snacks from the Philippines in five years.
Under the deal, the Philippines will supply dried fruit snacks to Sinopec Group’s import business, Easy Joy, while fresh young coconut will be supplied to partners and distributors in China.
The Philippine delegation also signed a memorandum of understanding with DOLE China. DOLE China committed to purchase $180.6-milllion worth of fruits from the Philippines in 2021, including 8 million boxes of bananas, 7 million boxes of pineapples, 300 thousand boxes of papaya and 38,400 boxes of avocados.
China’s Goodfarmer also forged an agreement with the Philippine delegation to purchase $25 million worth of fruits from the Philippines in 2021. Goodfarmer is one of the leading importers of fresh fruits and vegetables in China. They are the top importer of bananas in China. The company also imports pineapple, dragon fruit, kiwi, oranges, and avocados, among others. Goodfarmer mainly operates in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi’an, and Shenyang.
As a sign of goodwill, the Philippine delegation donated healthy products to Food Bank China as part of the launch of the Shanghai Food Bank Project with Liwayway China on November 5. The donation includes 200 packs of banana chips from Excellent Quality Goods Supply Company, 50 tuna packs of premium handline tuna from Century Pacific Food, Inc., and bundles of virgin coconut oil and various coconut products from Team Asia Corporation.
The food donation to Food Bank China serves as a way of giving back and token of appreciation to the Chinese community for its continued support towards the Filipino representatives and communities in China, according to Vice Consul Commercial Mario Tani of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Shanghai.
The Philippine participation in CIIE is organized in partnership with the Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC) through the PTICs in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong and EMB. Government partners are the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Office of the Agricultural Counsellor in Beijing (DA-OAC-Beijing) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). The project is likewise supported by business associations such as the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (PHILEXPORT) and the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII).
To keep the momentum of Philippine export promotion in China, the Philippines also featured 30 local MSMEs in another hybrid participation in the 17th China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) last November 27-30. Visit www.foodphilippines.cn to discover more food and ingredients from the Philippines.
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