DTI cites strong demand in China for local food exports

Despite a slowdown on consumer spending worldwide, local food exports continue to register strong demand in the Chinese market, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

In a statement, the DTI said Chinese consumers have taken much interest in Filipino delicacies such as crab paste and laing. Ready to consume products, such as banana chips, polvoron and calamansi are also popular products, along with tropical fruit purees, juices and concentrates such as mango, calamansi and coconut.

However, the DTI said in order to attract more consumers, local producers must improve their packaging as Chinese buyers noted the strong need to greatly improve the packaging of these food products, particularly for the snack/biscuits, calamansi juice and banana chips products sold in retail. 

For instance, the buyers recommended that tetra packaging be used instead of cans for calamansi juice. For laing, they recommended that the packaging should be handier.

The Chinese buyers also noted that labeling must be adapted to local China market conditions, which must be in Chinese characters and in conformity to Chinese food and health standards.

The DTI brought seven companies to an outbound business mission (OBM) to Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The participating companies include Agrinurture Inc., Master J. Food Products, Padday Na Lima Marketing Association, Navarro Food International Inc., Sasmuan Delicacies, Farms Food Products-Villamater, Asap Tagudin (Samahan Ng Magkakalamansi Development Cooperative). 

The OBM is part of the DTI’s ongoing initiatives to break into the huge Chinese market. China has a population of about 1.33 billion. In 2007, its gross domestic product (GDP) reached $7.04 trillion.