A SISTERHOOD agreement was recently inked by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the ethnic Federation of Indian Chambers to bolster trade and economic collaboration.
The agreement was signed at the onset of the inbound business-to-business (B2B) trade mission between the Indian trade delegation and CCCI on Nov. 16, 2022 at Seda Central Bloc Cebu, Cebu City.
“The sisterhood will serve as framework for future collaboration between our two countries such as cultural exchanges and trade missions,” said CCCI president Charles Kenneth Co in an interview Friday, Nov. 17.
Over 100 Cebuano business leaders attended the first B2B matching event jointly organized by the CCCI, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (Phil) Inc. and the Embassy of India.
The trade delegation from India was composed of the members of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations, a trade promotion body, set up by the Ministry of Commerce Government of India supported by the Embassy of India, Manila.
The event highlighted 22 multi-product companies representing various sectors in food and agro products; frozen bovine/buffalo and sheep meat; pharmaceuticals (medicine and food supplements); medical devices, surgical instruments, hospital equipment and human augmentation; textile, apparels and garments; auto components (brake and clutch linings for trucks, buses etc); construction (ceramic and tiles); ceramic/porcelain wall and floor tiles; printing and packaging paper, toys and educational/recreational materials for children.
Trade mission
In the B2B Connect event, Co expressed interest in having more bilateral exchange of trade missions between India and Cebu.
“The Indian embassy has invited us to visit India, and we will endeavor to gather a Filipino delegation to promote our products and services to India,” he said.
Among the delegates were Anantya Bionics, a manufacturer of medical devices and hospital equipment/s; agri-businesses such as Fair Exports and Carnefresh exports which showcased their abundant bovine meat for worldwide consumption; Crescent Impex, Balaji Chawal, Green Agri Corp, MinalAgri, MS International, Tucuxi Overseas and VRD Best Foods with their products on rice, vegetables, soya feeds, dairy products, processed potatoes, peanuts, among others.
Gurvinder Singh Sachdev from Standard Friction Components showcased their unique product lines: brake and clutch linings for heavy trucks, buses, cranes, and industrial applications; while Vitaegsis Wellness Pvt Ltd for food supplements; Jagdamba Paper Corp. for all kinds of paper and board products. Areya Packaging Pvt Ltd (PepPlay) on educational tools, doodle marts, art and craft activities, puzzle books, and Libero Export House for ceramic wall and floor tiles, porcelain tiles, sanitary wares, and others, and lastly Next Move for their vegan (millets) and dairy products.
Bilateral trade
Indian companies are demonstrating maturity in the international markets and are successfully operating in both developing as well as developed markets.
In fact, the presence of Indian information technology-business process management companies such as Wipro and Tech Mahindra speak well as proofs of dynamic and committed Indian businesses in the global economy.
In 2020, India exported US$1.56 billion to the Philippines. The main products exported from India to the Philippines were packaged medicaments ($228 million), motorcycles and cycles ($116 million), and semi-finished iron ($103 million). During the last 25 years, the exports of India to the Philippines have increased at an annualized rate of 10 percent, from $143 million in 1995 to $1.56 billion in 2020.
In 2020, the Philippines exported $631 million to India. The main products exported from the Philippines to India were refined copper ($82.7 million), gold ($78.4 million), and office machine parts ($67.1 million). During the last 25 years, the exports of the Philippines to India have increased at an annualized rate of 14.8 percent, from $20 million in 1995 to $631 million in 2020.
Indian investment in the Philippines is mainly in the areas of textiles, garments, information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services, steel, airports, chemicals, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals.