Philippine food exporters wow European market

Manila, Dec. 3 (PNA) -- The Philippines continues to be a favorite sourcing hub of European food buyers in search of banana chips, desiccated coconut, dried fruits, tropical fruit drinks and ethnic food as shown by the recent Philippine participation at SIAL fair, one of the world’s largest food industry exhibitions held in Paris, France.

The Philippines is one of the main country pavilions to greet buyers as they arrived in Hall 4 of the fair.

“Most buyers that flocked the Philippine pavilion were European-based importers,” said Ma. Lourdes D. Mediran, officer-in-charge of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM).

The Philippine SIAL participation generated combined sales of close to US$ 30 million during the five-day event.

SIAL welcomed 147,680 visitors, enjoying a 5 percent increase from the last edition. International buyers from countries such as the European Union, the United States and Asia accounted for 58 percent of the total visitor attendance. It was also the global meeting place for the entire food industry and a unique opportunity to meet and learn from nearly 5,300 companies from around the globe.

The country's participation to the 2008 edition of SIAL is part of the government’s continuing effort to promote Philippine products globally under the International Food Exhibition (IFEX), an international platform for unique food ideas that will be held on May 15-17, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center.

Gemma Perez, Marketing in-charge of El Coco Manufacturing and Trading Corp., considers their SIAL participation as an advantage in meeting regular and new prospective buyers. Their banana chips, whether standard, long cut or the newly introduced rippled variant enjoyed a warm acceptance from the European market.

Aside from having the chance to flaunt the country’s food expertise, the Philippine participation in SIAL fair also became an outlet for local exhibitors to learn more about the latest global trends and innovations of the food industry that will influence future consumer markets.

On the other hand, Ruben L. See, president of See’s International Food Manufacturing Corp., emphasized that innovating products into a more delectable feast is the recent trend in the food industry.

“New ideas in packaging and product presentation always surface to attract buyers,” he said.

“It’s also important to join fairs like SIAL because it serves as a global arena to test the readiness of your products and its acceptance in the market,” said See, maker of fine banana chips, dried fruit cocktail and desiccated coconut.

The Philippine pavilion featured products from different categories such as beverages, organic and natural products, fine food and regional gastronomic delights, fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, biscuits, snacks and confectioneries, and allied products and services.