AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the Philippines is being considered as a source of eggs, chicken, vegetables and high-value rice by Singapore.
According to Mr. Piñol, Singapore officials will visit in March to inspect Philippine processing facilities. Philippine produce is expected to fill the void left by Malaysia when it stops exporting poultry to Singapore.
“The Singapore Ambassador Kok Li Peng was very happy in fact she really appreciated the fact that I came to her and see… to ask if we could supply the eggs and the poultry needs of Singapore,” Mr. Piñol told reporters in Pasay.
“During the meeting, we agreed that the AVA of Singapore (Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority) will be visiting the Philippines in March to conduct inspection of the facilities,” Mr. Piñol added.
Mr. Piñol said that Dante Palabrica, director of farm operations at Universal Robina Corp., was present at the meeting, and expressed a willingness to participate in the export trade for poultry and eggs, as well as pork.
“The other thing that Singapore is interested in is vegetables we will be producing from Bukidnon. Because right now we are developing our vegetables in Bukidnon,” Mr. Piñol said.
“The items they are looking at right now are pork, eggs, chicken, high-value rice (including brown rice and organic rice), shrimps and vegetables from Mindanao,” he added.
Mr. Piñol said that he is not worried about the supply situation for these items.
“I told the Singapore ambassador that concerns on food safety will be addressed by mid-next year because we will have that irradiation facility in Davao. That could be our clearing house for our food exports. Everything will pass through that,” Mr. Piñol noted.
According to news reports, Malaysia may stop exporting eggs to ensure sufficient domestic supply. Malaysia is the top supplier of eggs to Singapore. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR