Effective supply chain emerges as key to aggie competitiveness

An efficient supply chain is emerging as key to the competitiveness of the country’s food and agri-business industry.

And it means quality, productivity, and cost-efficiency in every stage of production and processing along the entire supply chain, wherein the output of one enterprise is the input of another, according to the Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development (FRLD), a non-government organization serving the agriculture and food industry.

FRLD president Antonio V. Roces said attaining that level of efficiency would require strong and seamless linkages among all members of the supply chain to make them price-competitive against the currently cheaper imports and take advantage of business opportunities from the increased demand arising from the projected economic turnaround and rapid population growth.

"The increase in demand is especially expected for food, particularly for meat and meat preparations, in the range of 6.7 to 71. percent. Consequently, there will be a corresponding surge in demand for feed grains, primarily corn," Roces said.

The country’s second major grain crop, corn posted a huge 17.28-percent output growth last year. It is expected to grow by nine percent this year.

While the price of corn can be affected by the costs of such various inputs as seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, milling, trucking, and shipping, it can also influence those of livestock feeds, meat and poultry, bakery products, and other food items using corn or corn starch.

"As such, there is a glaring need to develop synergy in the entire supply chain in order to attain competitiveness in terms of volume, quality and price," Roces explained, citing FRLD’s move to address the issue by gathering the food and agri-business industry in one big international event dubbed "Agrilink and Foodlink 2005."

The country’s biggest and most prestigious annual international tradeshow on agribusiness and food, Agrilink and Foodlink will have "Efficient Supply Chain: Key to Competitiveness" as its theme for this year.

The twin events, which will be held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila on Oct. 6 to 8, are designed for he pursuit of competitiveness by making available all the products, services, technologies and systems for that purpose while serving as a venue for developing the required level of linkages among all members of the supply chain.

At the same time, Agrilink and Foodlink are geared to generate business opportunities, retail sales, booked orders, marketing tie-ups, joint ventures, and other lucrative transactions between the exhibitors and the hordes of visitors and trade buyers.

Inquiries and/or reservations can be made with FRLD (tel. 8384549, 8384852; fax 8384573, or e-mail [email protected]).

Specifically, Agrilink 2005 will bring together all the sectors of agribusiness, including agricultural chemicals, animal breeding, animal health and nutrition, aquaculture, equipment and machinery, feed ingredients and processing, fertilizers, financial institutions, fruits and vegetables, horticulture, irrigation systems, seafoods, seeds, and wastewater management, among many others.

On the other hand, Foodlink 2005 will comprise beverages, consultancy, cooling and storage facilities, dairy, fishery products, food ingredients and additives, food packaging materials, food processing and packaging, meat products, post-harvest facilities, process automation, processed food, and storage and logistics, among others.

Foodlink is now on its 6th year and Agrilink on its 12th. Both events also include technology seminars, product demos, business matching and interaction among industry stakeholders.