Unlock opportunities in EU, exporters urged

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s exporters, particularly those of agri-food products, are encouraged to tap opportunities in the European Union, given the increased purchasing power of EU consumers and recent regulatory and policy developments, according to a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

Nelli Hajdu, EU market access expert at the International Trade Center (ITC) said there are many regulatory and policy developments in the last five years affecting business opportunities in the EU market.

In particular, these are climate change and the global response, supply chain vulnerability and changing geostrategic perception of food trade, as well as the Green Deal initiatives.

“(The) shift from SPS (sanitary and phytosanitary) and food safety to sustainability slows (the) EU trade agenda,” she said.

As part of the EU’s growth strategy, the European Green Deal was launched in 2019 with the aim of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“EU market access may be challenging, but Philippine exporters have access to a wide range of support systems,” Hajdu said.

She cited ITC’s Export Potential Map – a tool that provides exporters information on exports that have already been made and opportunities that may be explored.

Citing the Philippines Export Potential to Europe Arise Plus Report, Hajdu said the top 10 local agriculture, food and beverage products are bananas, crude coconut oil, pineapples (fresh or dried), coconut oil (excluding crude) and fractions, prepared or preserved tunas, desiccated coconuts, pineapples (prepared or preserved), mucilages and thickeners derived from vegetable products, edible parts of plants and frozen yellowfin tuna.

Based on the ITC Export Potential Map, she said Philippine products with potential for export to the EU and West Europe are electronic equipment, machinery, electricity, precious metals and fruits.

Hajdu also highlighted consumer and food industry trends in the EU market that Philippine exporters can consider.

“Because of the market power, there is a lot of interest in pleasure and wellness so if you have some interesting fixtures, functional foods, this is really the market,” she said.

She said EU consumers are also becoming more sustainability and environmentally conscious.