Merchandise trade between Qatar and the Philippines reached $203.18mn in 2019, according to Philippine Commercial Attaché for the Middle East and Africa Charmaine Mignon S Yalong.
Of the total amount, Yalong said the Philippines exported $55.19mn worth of goods (excluding services), and imported mostly gas from Qatar amounting to $147.99mn, making the Southeast Asian nation a net importer of Qatari gas.
Yalong said of the $55.19mn worth of Philippine exports, processed food topped the list of goods at $17.57mn, followed by fresh food worth $12.13mn, and machinery amounting to $9.19mn.
Other leading export products from the Philippines include construction materials ($4.02mn), electronics ($3.7mn), transport ($1.63mn), marine/aquaculture ($1.36mn), personal care ($1.19mn), chemicals ($98mn), pharmaceuticals ($65mn), and others ($2.77mn).
Yalong said the Philippine government is working to increase its exports to the Middle East and other countries abroad as part of the country’s Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022 that focuses on key export sectors: electronics, such as office equipment and consumer electronics; processed food and beverages like coconut products, processed fruits, baked goods and confectionery, and beverages; IT-BPM (business services), such as creative industries, healthcare information, startup, logistics/transport, and franchising, among others; and tourism and travel-related goods, which include tourism services like accommodation services, travel agencies, and souvenir items, among others.
She noted that the PEDP 2018-2022 has three key strategies, which is to improve the overall climate for export development, to exploit existing prospective opportunities from trading arrangements, and to design comprehensive packages of support for selected products and services sectors.
Yalong was recently in Qatar for the Doha leg of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) ‘Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to GCC 2020’, led by DTI-Trade Promotions Group (TPG) Undersecretary Abdulgani M Macatoman.
The Philippine delegation also included DTI-EMB Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist Myrtle Faye L Solina, and Trade and Industry Development Specialist Al-Mahdi I Jul-Ahmad.
Aside from government representatives, the delegation was also composed of representatives from 11 Philippine business companies participating in the DTI’s OBMM initiative, which was organised in collaboration with the Philippine Embassy in Qatar.
By staging the OBMM in Qatar, Macatoman said event would help develop and expand relationships with business, government, and multiplier organisations in Qatar, and enhance local understanding of the current economic conditions and business opportunities.
Moreover, the project supports the ‘Export Promotion for Philippine Food Sector’, which endeavours to bring Philippine cuisine, ingredients, and beverages overseas. The programme’s strategy will build on Strategy No 3 of the PEDP 2018-2022, which is to design comprehensive packages of support that will be able to mainstream the Philippine food, food ingredients, and beverages sectors, and encourage innovations on major Philippine commodities and niche products.
Joseph Timothy Rivera, Investment Promotions Partner for the Middle East of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), said Peza’s representatives in Qatar “are aggressively working hand in hand” with Yalong and the Philippine Embassy in Doha to ensure the effective promotion of business opportunities to Arab markets.
Yalong said of the $55.19mn worth of Philippine exports, processed food topped the list of goods at $17.57mn, followed by fresh food worth $12.13mn, and machinery amounting to $9.19mn.
Other leading export products from the Philippines include construction materials ($4.02mn), electronics ($3.7mn), transport ($1.63mn), marine/aquaculture ($1.36mn), personal care ($1.19mn), chemicals ($98mn), pharmaceuticals ($65mn), and others ($2.77mn).
Yalong said the Philippine government is working to increase its exports to the Middle East and other countries abroad as part of the country’s Philippine Export Development Plan (PEDP) 2018-2022 that focuses on key export sectors: electronics, such as office equipment and consumer electronics; processed food and beverages like coconut products, processed fruits, baked goods and confectionery, and beverages; IT-BPM (business services), such as creative industries, healthcare information, startup, logistics/transport, and franchising, among others; and tourism and travel-related goods, which include tourism services like accommodation services, travel agencies, and souvenir items, among others.
She noted that the PEDP 2018-2022 has three key strategies, which is to improve the overall climate for export development, to exploit existing prospective opportunities from trading arrangements, and to design comprehensive packages of support for selected products and services sectors.
Yalong was recently in Qatar for the Doha leg of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) ‘Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to GCC 2020’, led by DTI-Trade Promotions Group (TPG) Undersecretary Abdulgani M Macatoman.
The Philippine delegation also included DTI-EMB Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist Myrtle Faye L Solina, and Trade and Industry Development Specialist Al-Mahdi I Jul-Ahmad.
Aside from government representatives, the delegation was also composed of representatives from 11 Philippine business companies participating in the DTI’s OBMM initiative, which was organised in collaboration with the Philippine Embassy in Qatar.
By staging the OBMM in Qatar, Macatoman said event would help develop and expand relationships with business, government, and multiplier organisations in Qatar, and enhance local understanding of the current economic conditions and business opportunities.
Moreover, the project supports the ‘Export Promotion for Philippine Food Sector’, which endeavours to bring Philippine cuisine, ingredients, and beverages overseas. The programme’s strategy will build on Strategy No 3 of the PEDP 2018-2022, which is to design comprehensive packages of support that will be able to mainstream the Philippine food, food ingredients, and beverages sectors, and encourage innovations on major Philippine commodities and niche products.
Joseph Timothy Rivera, Investment Promotions Partner for the Middle East of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), said Peza’s representatives in Qatar “are aggressively working hand in hand” with Yalong and the Philippine Embassy in Doha to ensure the effective promotion of business opportunities to Arab markets.
