The Philippines has the potential to increase its exports of food and agri-based products to Qatar by $19.05mn, according to the Export Potential Assessment conducted by the International Trade Centre (ITC).
This was announced yesterday by Dubai-based Philippine Trade and Investment Centre (PTIC) as part of the Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, which is being held from February 11 to 25.
The business mission is organised by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and PTIC-Dubai. As many as 26 Philippine exporters of halal-certified food, personal care, and cosmetic products will participate in the OBMM.
Citing ITC’s Export Potential Assessment, PTIC-Dubai reported in a statement that the Philippines has the potential to increase its exports of food and agri-based products to the UAE by $56.40mn, Bahrain by $3.92mn, and Kuwait by $11.59mn.
The ITC assessment also noted that the Philippines has the potential to increase its exports of personal care and cosmetic products to the GCC by $1.53mn.
The Qatar leg of the GCC mission will run from February 14 to 16. It is currently being held in Manama, Bahrain until February 13. It will then proceed to Kuwait City (February 13 to 14) and will culminate in Dubai (February 16 to 25) in time for ‘Gulfood 2023’.
The Philippines organises additional business-to-business (B2B) matching activities to complement its participation in Gulfood and maximise opportunities for exporters. This also provides an opportunity for buyers to meet Philippine suppliers who are not participating in Gulfood.
This year’s mission will include exporters from five Philippine regions that can offer a variety of food, personal care, and cosmetic products to GCC’s diverse population, including Overseas Filipino Workers.
In 2022, Philippine exports of food products and personal care products to GCC amounted to $223.4mn and $10.9mn, respectively. Based on the products of participating exporters in the OBMM and the ITC’s Export Potential Assessment, the mission aims to maximise the Philippines’ additional export potential to the GCC estimated at $100mn.
In 2021, the UAE accounted for 61.48% of Philippine exports to the GCC followed by Saudi Arabia (18.38%) and Qatar (10.69%).
“The Philippines is continuously strengthening its halal ecosystem to be able to better serve the growing global halal market. The mission aims to contribute to increased understanding of Philippine exporters on the halal market in the GCC, especially for the 15 exporters who are first-time participants to the OBMM,” said DTI-Trade Promotion Group assistant secretary Glenn Penaranda.
He added: “Furthermore, our sustained initiatives to strengthen partnerships in the Middle East is a testament to our desire to work with other countries in attaining food security through cooperation and innovation.”
