Philippines, Australia trade to expand futher

MANILA, Philippines — Trade between the Philippines and Australia is expected to expand as more Australian firms enter the country, according to an official of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).

“There has never been a more exciting time to work on issues relating to the Philippines because we are very bullish about the prospects for Philippine economic growth,” Austrade senior trade and investment commissioner Christopher Lim said in a media briefing late Friday.

“And correspondingly we are also very focused and I’m very hopeful about increasing links between Australia and the Philippines in terms of trade, economic, and education ties,” he said.

Lim shared that in 2022, trade between Australia and the Philippines amounted to A$6 billion, an 18 percent increase from a year ago.

He said there is more potential to increase the number, noting that Australian firms have expressed interest in the Philippines.

“From Austrade’s point of view, we have seen a huge uptick in terms of the number of Australian companies coming into the Philippines,” Lim said.

He added that these companies are engaged in various sectors such as agriculture, food, education, mining, technology and cybersecurity.

“And today I was delighted to actually visit a company that is focused on generative AI (artificial intelligence) and it’s an Australian company that is doing that,” Lim said.

Lim also shared that there is a growing number of Filipinos studying in Australia with 30,000 Filipino students currently in Australia, nearly double the 18,000 students registered pre-pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Austrade official also highlighted opportunities for Filipino products in Australia, citing the recent shipment of carabao mangoes to Sydney and Perth.

“And the thing is that access has already been allowed for a long time. It’s just that there isn’t enough supply, a good quality, consistent quality to come to Australia. So you know, I think more effort has to be put in to actually ensure good quality and supply and timely delivery to Australia,” Lim said.

He also cited potential export opportunities for uncrowned Philippine pineapples.

Last month, Australian Embassy deputy head of mission for the Philippines Moya Collett said the 10 priority sectors enumerated in their Invested:Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 has strong relevance in the Philippines.

“As you know, there’s a lot of potential to do more agriculture and resources. Australia is focused on the green energy transition. So you would hope to see more investments in that area as well,” Collett said.

Among the priority sectors mentioned in the strategy are agriculture and food, resources, green energy transition, infrastructure, education and skills, visitor economy, healthcare, digital economy, professional and financial services, and creative industries.

Asked if the Philippines and Australian have the potential to partner in the area of clean energy, Collett expressed optimism.

“Yes, I hope so because Australia wants to be a clean energy superpower. We really want to export our clean energy to the world and invest more in green energy in the region and the Philippines absolutely should be part of what we’re doing,” Collett said.