Wazzup Pilipinas!
The Philippines top agricultural export products will be among the highlights of the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines to be held on May 19–21, 2017 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila and the Philippine Trade and Training Center, Pasay City.
In line with its efforts to promote the country’s food commodities to the international market, IFEX Philippines will have special highlights on coffee, cacao, coconut, and fruit and nut products as part of the Food Industry Cluster under the Food Artisans Village. Each pavilion site will showcase the Philippines’ high-demand export commodities in numerous varieties and cultivars.
“Through IFEX Philippines, we hope to close new deals and partnerships with our extensive list of international buyers, a majority of which are new comers to the event,” said CITEM Executive Director, Clayton Tugonon. “We are showcasing only the best in IFEX Philippines and buyers can expect to see the finest agricultural products the Philippines has to offer.”
Agro-based products contributed to 6.1% of the share of the Philippine’s export in the first half of 2016, amounting to a $291.5 million in sales. Coconut products lead the country’s agricultural exports with 34% share to total agricultural exports, closing off the last quarter of 2016 with a total of $487.3 million.
The Philippines is a major producer of tropical fruits, exporting more than 744,000 metric tons of homegrown products in the fourth quarter of 2016. Bananas ranked second in the total agricultural exports with a share of 12% and sales of $172.6 in 2016. Pineapples follow right after at 10.7% with $153.7 million in sales.
Tuna, fourth in the overall export shares with 5.5%, recorded an increase in exports by 39.2% during the fourth quarter of 2016 from $56.58 million in 2015 to $78.76 million. Other seafood products, such as seaweeds, carrageenan, shrimps, and prawns, produced $67.54 million during the same period.
Coffee exports rose by 24.7% from $91.50 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 to $114.14 million in 2016, while cacao closed off the year with $72.16 million, an increase by almost 30%.
“There is a constant increase in the exports of our commodities and with new partnerships, such as our outstanding one with Japan, this trend will only continue within the next years,” said Tugonon. “IFEX Philippines will be our one-stop trade platform in promoting our local products and building relationship with global buyers.”
The 11th edition of IFEX Philippines will feature four major exhibition halls that will present a spectrum of flavors from across the globe.
Top and emerging Philippine exporters and business support organizations (BSOs) in the food industry will be stationed at the “Food Philippines Hall”, while the “International Hall” presents top food products and ingredients from top international companies and manufacturers.
The distinct flavors of the country’s provinces take center stage in the “Food Artisans Village”, presented by the Department of Agriculture, through the Agribusiness Marketing and Assistance Service (DA-AMAS). The Food Artisans Village includes the Commodity, Seafood, Mindanao, and Negros Occidental Pavilions.
The “MarketPlace” is a free-for-all where buyers and visitors can purchase on retail throughout the event.
IFEX will also present highly curated exhibit of product prototypes developed through the locally fabricated food machinery operated by Food Innovation Centers (FICs), under the Department of Science and Technology- Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI) at the “Food Innovation Gallery”.
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IFEX Philippines, Asia’s ethnic food & ingredients show, is the country’s biggest international trade exhibition on the Philippines’ and Asia's specialty food, with around 700 exhibitor companies, attracting wholesale buyers, importers and food distributors from all over the world.
IFEX Philippines is a fast-rising Asian marketplace where sellers of unique tropical flavors, products, innovations, and services are linked with international buyers, importers, and retailers, propelling for bigger international presence, wider variety of products, and world-class features. Categories include tropical fruits, vegetables, seafood, beverages, bakery and confectionery products, meat and poultry, Halal-certified products, as well as natural, organic, and healthy food products. It is organized in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, through its Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (DA-AMAS), and the ASEAN Committee on Business and Investment Promotion (CBIP), which is chaired by DTI.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
