The Philippines generated over $462 million export sales in the country’s participation in the third China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on Monday.
DTI in a statement said the delegation under the FOODPhilippines banner was led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem).
Citem Executive Director Pauline Suaco-Juan said the total export sales include the $455.689-million worth of export deals from signings and commitments, as well as $6.17-million worth of onsite booked sales and business matching activities organized by the DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and Food2China.
Suaco-Juan said it exceeded their $160-million target export sales, which includes $31 million from onsite floor sales.
With the theme “Healthy and Natural,” this year’s participation featured 40 Philippine companies that showcased a range of tropical fruits, processed fruits and vegetables, healthy snacks, seafood and marine products, and other premium food selections.
“Our showcase has been a success given that this is the first hybrid participation of FOODPhilippines and the first time we focused on food products in CIIE,” said Suaco-Juan.
“We already hit our target with our initial sales tally and we expect more sales as negotiations and commitments from the event come to fruition in the coming weeks,” she added.
DTI said of the major commitments made during the Philippines’ participation in CIIE was the signing of a procurement letter of intent from Sinopec North Energy (Dalian) Co., Ltd. with Eng Seng Food Products to purchase $245 million worth of young coconut and dried fruit snacks from the Philippines in five years.
Under the deal, the Philippines will supply dried fruit snacks to Sinopec Group’s import business, Easy Joy, while fresh young coconut will be supplied to partners and distributors in China.
The Philippine delegation also signed a memorandum of understanding with Dole China.
Dole China committed to purchase $180.6-million worth of fruits from the Philippines in 2021, including 8 million boxes of bananas, 7 million boxes of pineapples, 300,000 boxes of papaya, and 38,400 boxes of avocados.
China’s Goodfarmer also forged an agreement with the Philippine delegation to purchase $25 million worth of fruits from the Philippines in 2021. Goodfarmer is one of the leading importers of fresh fruits and vegetables in China.