THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem), is inviting Philippine food companies to explore the lucrative export opportunities in China by joining the country’s delegation in one of the world’s largest import-oriented expos.
DTI-Citem is forming a delegation of 50 food exhibitors to China who will participate in business linkages and business-to-business (B2B) meetings with foreign counterparts in the second edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE) to be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai, China, on Nov. 5 to 10, 2019.
“For this year’s participation, the Philippines aims to strengthen its relationship with China by once again focusing on promoting its trade and investment packages. We are doing this by continuing to emphasize to the global market that the Philippines is a viable source of quality and innovative products and services,” said DTI-Citem executive director Pauline Suaco-Juan.
“We encourage food companies to join our delegation and take advantage of China’s commitment to import more high-quality agricultural products including tropical fruits from the Philippines,” Suaco-Juan said.
China is the Philippines’ top trading partner in 2018, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. International trade in goods in 2018 with China totaled US$182.15 billion, which is higher than 10.5 percent in 2017, accounting for 16.9 percent of the country’s total trade.
China has also overtaken Japan as the biggest export market for Philippine bananas. It bought more than 1.1 million metric tons in 2018.
Currently, the two nations continue to implement the expanded bilateral agreements through the Six-Year Development Program for Trade and Economic Cooperation 2017 to 2022, which is a joint commitment to further facilitate economic and trade activities.
Suaco-Juan said the Philippine exhibitors will be located under CIIE’s food and agricultural hall.
Last year, the country’s delegation generated a total of US$37.5 million, which was almost four times the initial sales target. PR