Concepcion leads agriculture trade visit to Malaysia

MANILA, Philippines — Leading Philippine agriculture companies are set to meet with Malaysian agriculture powerhouses from April 22 to 24 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in time for the 100th meeting of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC).

The meeting is a direct outcome of ASEAN BAC Philippines’ efforts to forge partnerships between the agriculture companies of ASEAN member-states.

The three-day visit will involve a series of meetings to initiate strategic partnerships; technology and knowledge exchange of best practices and experiences and expand market access and diversify agricultural enterprises in both countries.

The delegation will visit plantations and manufacturing sites around Malaysia to further explore other possible partnerships. A memorandum of Agreement on agarwood production technology will also be signed during the visit.

ASEAN BAC Philippines chair and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion, who will lead the delegation, said the meetings will be important as the Philippines moves forward to ensure food security for itself and its neighbors in the region.

“This will benefit not just the agriculture industries of both our countries but also put us on a path toward developing cooperative relationships within the public and private sectors to ensure food security for the region,” he said.

“We will learn from each other and facilitate market linkages so that we can be a more productive, food-producing, self-reliant region. Starting with Malaysia, we will forge partnerships with the agri companies of the other ASEAN member-states.”

Joining Concepcion during the trade visit will be former DA chief and now Go Negosyo senior adviser William Dar, the presidents, CEOs and top executives of leading Philippine agriculture companies in commodities like rice, corn, coconut, cacao, poultry, flour, dairy, banana, durian, tobacco, agarwood, fertilizer and essential oils, as well as agriculture technology and manufacturing. Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Ma. Angela Ponce will also be joining the event.

The Malaysian delegation will be led by ABAC Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Nazir Razak and B2B Connect Initiative chairman and former Malaysia trade minister Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed. They will lead a group of Malaysian companies engaged in rice, durian, pineapple, poultry, coconut, banana, agarwood, rubber and palm oil production.

The trade visit follows the signing last year of a memorandum of understanding initiated by the ASEAN BAC Philippines with ASEAN BAC Malaysia, where both countries agreed to engage in promoting trade, investment and other development partnerships in agriculture. The signing was witnessed by President Marcos last year in Kuala Lumpur.

The visit is expected to kick off similar cooperation activities between ABAC Philippines and all the other signatories of the MOU, namely Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos and Thailand.

In the Philippine delegation are Kennemer country head Jojo Joson, Lionheart Farms CEO Christian Moeller, Bounty Fresh SVP Carl Benedick Chung, Phil. Rice Industry Stakeholders Movement’s Rowena Sadicon, Yovel East CEO James Amparo, LT Group CEO Michael Tan, I’mpact Foods business development manager Nelben Moreno, Iba Botanicals CEO Ben Mead, BioPrime SVP Paul Tolentino, Universal Leaf president Winston Uy, Highly Succeed CEO Maricar Malaki, RFM CFO Oliver Rey Matias and YTMI Realty president Felcaster Torres.