Philippines to expand halal food presence in Gulf countries

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is set to hold an outbound business matching mission (OBMM) to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries later this month in a bid to expand the market presence for Philippine halal-certified food.

In a statement yesterday, the DTI said OBMM organized by the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Dubai would run from Feb. 11 to 25.

“The delegation will include 26 Philippine exporters of halal-certified food, personal care, and cosmetic products, which aim to strengthen their presence and maximize opportunities in the GCC region,” the DTI said.

The GCC mission will cover Manama, Bahrain (11-13 February) Kuwait City, Kuwait (Feb. 13-14) Doha, Qatar (Feb. 14-16) and will culminate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Feb. 16-25), in time for Gulfood 2023, the world’s most extensive annual food and beverage sourcing event.

“To complement the Philippine participation in Gulfood led by the Center for International Trade Exhibition and Missions (CITEM), EMB conducts additional business-to-business matching activity to maximize opportunities for participating exporters,” the DTI said.

It said this also provides an opportunity for exporters who are not part of the Philippine delegation in Gulfood to meet buyers from the region.

Philippine food companies participating in the OBMM include Cattleya & Rose Gourmet Foods Trading, Eng Seng Food Products, Francoeur Merchandising, Franklin Baker Company of the Philippines, Fruits of Life, Inc, G5 International Corporation, Good Sense Food and Juices Corp., Innovative Packaging Industry Corp., Jamla Corp., La Carlota Food Enterprise, Liwayway Marketing Corp., Lorenzana Food Corp., Mega Global Corp., Mica By The Sea Company, Miguelitos International Corp., Pasciolco Agri Ventures, Pearl Foods International Inc., Pixcel Transglobal Foods Inc, Sagrex Foods Inc., Sandbox Middle East, See’s International Food Mfg. Corp., Turn Fruit Trading DMCC, and Villa Socorro Farm.

In addition, cosmetics and personal care exporters participating in the mission include C and H Cosmetics Industry, Greenstone Pharmaceutical, and Jegen SWE Enterprises.