Gov’t works on branding for Phl food products

MANILA, Philippines - The government plans to launch this year a branding for Philippine food products for export, as it seeks to actively promote local goods overseas, a trade official said.

“We want to create a Philippine brand (to be used) for packaging (of products) this year,” Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) executive director Rosario Virginia Gaetos told reporters at the sidelines of the 9th International Food Exhibition Philippines.

She said the brand to be conceptualized would not only be placed on the packaging of food products for exports, but would also be used in the marketing of the goods.

She said that among the challenges faced by Philippine food manufacturers and exporters is that the Philippine brand is not well-known overseas.

She said that the government wants to have packaging of exported locally produced goods bear the Philippine brand to make it easier to promote the goods and identify it with the Philippines.

She said the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Science and Technology (DOST) are currently working creating a branding for Philippine exports.

The government, she added, is also working with the private sector on the plan.

“We have to convince them,” she said.

The plan to create a Philippine branding for locally produced food products is in line with the aim of diversifying the country’s exports.

DTI undersecretary Ponciano Manalo said earlier the governments wants to diversify its exports to push for higher growth of the sector.

At present, electronic products account for the bulk of the country’s outbound shipments.

As of the first quarter, the country’s merchandise exports were down 6.2 percent to $12.080 billion from the same period last year.

This, as outbound shipments of electronic products remain weak due to slower demand from overseas.