THE presence of Filipino-owned sari-sari stores (or small neighborhood variety stores) all over Canada offers a great opportunity for Filipino producers and exporters to reach more customers and introduce a wide variety of Filipino products to Canadians.
Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines David Bruce Hartman said there is now an increasing number of sari-sari stores in the different parts of Canada, run by successful Filipina entrepreneurs, making the Filipino-Canadians still feel deeply connected to their roots.
“We have sari-sari stores all over the country. In a small community in northern Ontario with 40,000 people, there are two sari-sari stores. Clearly, it’s a viable business for Filipinos living in Canada,” Hartman said in his recent visit to Cebu.
Dried mangoes and coconut are among the popular Philippine products being sold in Canada. But besides these, Hartman also said there’s a big opportunity for the Philippines to export fresh agricultural products to Canada.
“What we’re trying to work with, is to make sure that there’s opportunity for Filipino producers to get their fresh products to Canada... Does the cold chain capacity exist to get your product to the market? ... There are more and more opportunities because we have a million citizens of Filipinos in Canada,” he said.
Canada and the Philippines are celebrating this year their 75th year of strong and friendly bilateral relations.
“We have a good story to tell. We have this connection. But that like any relationship it needs to be nurtured,” he said.
According to the 2021 census, close to one million citizens of Philippine origin live in Canada, while a growing number of Filipino citizens visit family and friends in Canada, study at Canadian colleges and universities, or immigrate to Canada. A significant number of Canadians visit the Philippines each year for tourism, work and family visits.
In 2022, the Canada-Philippines bilateral merchandise trade totaled $3.1 billion, up from $2.7 billion in 2021. Canadian merchandise exports to the Philippines in 2022 amounted to $1.2 billion, down slightly from $1.3 billion in 2021.
In 2022, Canadian merchandise imports from the Philippines were valued at $1.9 billion, up from $1.4 billion in the previous year. Canada’s stock in direct investments abroad in the Philippines in 2021 was approximately $1.6 billion.
Free trade agreement
Canada and the Philippines are currently negotiating a free trade agreement in the context of the Asean-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA).
According to Hartman, the ACAFTA has already undergone six rounds of negotiations.
“Because we have that unique access to the Philippines, we are always amenable to having exploratory discussions on how we can deepen our bilateral engagement,” he said.
For Canada, ACAFTA presents an opportunity to access the huge Southeast Asia market of over 600 million consumers in addition to a region that is predicted to have the fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030.
Canada already has a free trade arrangement with several Asean states (Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei) through their membership of the Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for the Tran-Pacific Partnership, which was formally signed in 2018.
Canada and Asean recorded US$26 billion in total trade in 2022 with Asean enjoying a surplus of just over $17 billion. Negotiations are expected to conclude by 2025.