DTI to bring 20 firms to France’s biggest fair

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is bringing roughly 20 companies to the SIAL (Salon International de I’Agroalimentaire) food fair in France and to business matching sessions in Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) later this year as part of efforts to promote greater trade with Europe.

“We will participate in SIAL…held every even year and the world’s biggest food fair,” DTI Export Marketing Bureau director Senen Perlada told reporters.

The SIAL, which will be held from Oct.19 to 23 in Paris, is seen as a good opportunity to promote Philippine products as the event is expected to have more than 6,000 exhibitors and 150,000 high profile visitors from 100 countries. 

This year’s exhibition will focus on the major challenges being faced by the global food industry.

Perlada said the Philippine delegation to SIAL will focus on promoting the following products: fresh and processed fruits, snack foods, coconut products, muscovado sugar, processed marine products, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

He said a business matching session is also being organized with Swiss companies taking part in the SIAL.

“Aside from that (SIAL), we have missions going to UK and Germany,” he said.

The missions will be meeting with British and German firms in business matching sessions to be held in London and Hamburg, respectively.

The DTI is making a strong push for Europe as it seeks to promote greater trade and investment ties with the region.

Earlier this year, the Philippines submitted its application to the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences Plus (EU GSP+), a scheme that will enable more local goods to enter the bloc at zero tariff.

The Philippines is currently a beneficiary of the regular GSP covering 6,209 products, with 2,442 products subject to zero duty and the rest slapped with lower tariffs.

The EU GSP+ covers 6,274 products which can enter the EU at zero duty.

Aside from getting GSP+ status, the Philippines is also looking to enter into free trade agreements (FTA) with the EU and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which groups Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

Trade Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Jr. said earlier the government is “aiming to conclude scoping exercise (for the EU-Philippines FTA) this year.”