The Philippines’ halal coconuts will lead the FoodPhilippines showcase at the 10th edition of SIAL Middle East to be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in Dubai on December 9-11, 2019.
Coconut products, one of the Philippines’ top halal export products, will be featured in SIAL Middle East 2019.
The country’s participation in the United Arab Emirates food trade show is part of its efforts to expand halal food exports in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region ahead of the Dubai Expo 2020.
The country’s delegation is set to gather halal manufacturers and exporters of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, seafood products, ethnic and gourmet products, non-alcoholic beverages, confectionery, biscuits and pastries, and many more under the FoodPhilippines banner.
“We are gathering a pool of Philippine food producers and manufacturers to bring a diverse selection of distinct, halal-certified Filipino products made from creative recipes and quality ingredients across our regions that bring out unforgettable flavors for the global market,” said Abdulgani Macatoman, Undersecretary for Trade Promotions Group (TPG) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
This year’s Philippine contingent will be led for the first time by DTI through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), with a target to bring 10 companies and generate US$1.5 million of export sales.
“With the growing number of halal food producers in the Philippines, this participation is part of DTI’s efforts to position our local exporters in the global halal food chain with our premium food and beverages,” said CITEM Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan.
“We are ramping up the country’s overseas promotion in the MENA region to expand the Philippines’ market reach and influence in the international halal network as the country further asserts itself in the region where there are also a lot of Filipino migrant workers,” she added.
According to Suaco-Juan, DTI’s export promotion activities to SIAL ME is also in preparation for the Philippine participation in the Expo 2020 Dubai in which a multi-level country pavilion will be built on a 3,100-square-meter plot of land in the event’s Sustainability District under the theme of “Bangkóta,” the ancient Tagalog word for coral reef, to let the world experience the Philippines—its people’s history, food, technology, art and design, nature, among others.
Suaco-Juan said buyers and visitors in SIAL will be able to taste and get a glimpse of what they can expect from the Philippine participation in the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai.
“A contributor to the Philippines’ stronger trade relations to UAE are the Filipinos living in that country, which is said to have been around 770,000—making Filipinos the 3rd largest ex-pat community next to Pakistanis and Indians,” Suaco-Juan noted.
As of 2018, the global halal market is valued at US$ 2.6 trillion with the bulk or 62 percent of the halal market comprised of food and beverages followed by pharmaceuticals, 22 percent; cosmetics and personal care, 10 percent; and nutraceutical, 6 percent.
According to David Smith of Global Futures and Foresights Study, the halal industry is projected to be a US$10-trillion industry by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing consumer segments in the world.
The Philippines joined last year in the International Halal Accreditation Forum (IHAF), an independent, non-government network of accreditation entities mandated to enforce halal standards in their countries and territories. Mandated to protect the growing number of halal consumers and to facilitate international trade, IHAF establishes a solid ground for the global industry of halal food and non-food products.
The DTI eyes halal to become a major industry in the Philippines due to several key factors such as the increasing demand for halal products even in non-Muslim markets; increased awareness of the availability, quality and integrity of halal products; increase in number of certifiers to ensure quality, integrity of halal products in the market; emerging new categories of halal-certified products and services; globalization and integration of markets; and growth in e-commerce and online platforms.
The Philippine coconut industry has marked milestones and innovations and steadily gained international acceptance with young coconuts being welcomed to the United States market, and shipments to U.S. and China sent off this year.
DTI-CITEM has been at the forefront of pushing Philippine products to international markets, among them, the Pinyapel
SEND well wishes in the comments below to DTI CITEM and the FoodPhilippines team at the SIAL Middle East 2019!
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