THE trade department has set a target of $10 million worth of new deals to be generated by the Philippines’ participation next month in Japan’s FOODEX trade fair, also known as the 43rd International Food and Beverage Exhibition.
In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions said Philippine brands will be exhibitors at the Japan event, the largest food fair in the Asia-Pacific region.
The country’s top exporters of tropical fruit, beverages and other processed food are expected to participate in the four-day event which will be held in Chiba, Japan starting March 6.
“Japanese consumers are no stranger to us. We know that they have a penchant for our tropical fruits and that is what we are looking to showcase as we return to FOODEX,” said Nora K. Terrado, DTI undersecretary for Trade and Investments Promotion and CITEM officer-in-charge in the statement.
Japan is the country’s largest export market for fresh food. It is also the second-largest destination for processed food, next to the United States. Citing initial reports from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the DTI said Japan is among the top export destinations of the Philippines with a 16.20% share of total merchandise exports in 2017.
The two countries have a free trade agreement, the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
“We will also feature other tropical food and ingredients to widen the line of Philippine products shipped to Japan and promote the country as a premier sourcing destination,” added Ms. Terrado.
FOODEX last year attracted over 3,000 exhibitors, as well as more than 82,000 buyers from the food manufacturing, service, distribution, and trading sectors across the global food industry. — Janina C. Lim
