Food exporters face another hurdle

CEBU, Philippines - Amid the softening of the international market and the depreciation of the values of the dollar and the euro, the strict health and safety requirements of the international market is another issue challenging exporters of processed and non-processed food.

Nelson Bascones, president of the Association of Food Manufacturers and Exporters (AFME) Inc., said the industry was also affected by the worldwide economic crisis especially the food exports.

“But the impact of the crisis to the industry is not as much as the furniture market and other export goods,” he said.

With regard to the health and safety requirements, Bascones said most countries such as those in the European Union requires food exporting company to have an EU-accreditation for health and safety.

“(Aside from health and safety reasons,) I think EU is doing this as a trade barrier,” he said.

In a separate interview, former AFME president Nancy Tan said countries in EU and the United States are requiring food exporting company to be Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)-certified.

HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.

Aside from the cost to be incurred from hiring a certification body to audit a company’s HACCP-compliance, other investments include technologies and machines to comply with HACCP programs.

This is why food manufacturers and exporters are asking the new administration under newly-elected President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to assist the industry through training that would align food companies on food safety management system and build their capability for competitiveness, Bascones said.

AFME has 20 members in Cebu.

Meanwhile, a report from the Bureau of Export Trade and Promotion showed that 64-percent of Philippine food exports are processed food. Some 19-percent of this is fresh food while 17-percent are marine products. Fruits and nuts make up 49-percent of all processed food exports, followed by dairy products and sugar products, cereal and flour.

The fresh food export is dominated by fruits particularly banana at 82-percent, while marine exports is mainly tuna at 47-percent. These are exported mainly to the US, Japan and Korea.