Government woos French firms in F&B sector

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines wants French firms to consider trade opportunities in the food and beverage sector to strengthen ties between the two countries.

During the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines’ webinar, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said there is room for improvement and opportunities for French businesses and investors for trade in the food and beverage sector in the Philippines.

Food, beverage and agricultural products are not part of the list of top Philippine exports to France which include digital monolithic integrated circuits, other parts of airplanes and helicopters and spectacle lenses of other materials.

“Through our Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Paris, or our commercial office in France, we have been strengthening our promotion for processed and specialty food, including bananas, pineapples, coconut products – such as desiccated coconuts and coco sugar – and prepared or preserved tuna to your country,” he said.

While the pandemic has affected and hurt the food and beverage sector, he said recovery is expected this year.

Amid the pandemic, he said many local food manufacturers have started to sell directly to consumers online, while food service providers have turned to e-commerce and delivery apps.

To support the sector, he said the government has ensured the continuous unimpeded movement of goods and supply chains even when the lockdowns were imposed.

In reopening the economy, he said the food and beverage sector was also among those pushed by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to be allowed to operate at increased capacities.

He said the DTI also has training programs to help businesses including those in the food and beverage sector transition online.

Earlier this year, the DTI rolled out the e-commerce roadmap which aims for  the number of e-commerce enterprises to reach one million next year from 500,000 last year, and bring the contribution to the economy to P1.2 trillion next year from P599 billion last year.