Saudi group to explore investments in farm sector

MANILA, Philippines – A high-level delegation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), led by its Agriculture Minister Fahad Balghunaim, will arrive this month to explore possible investments in the Philippines’ farm sector.

This was announced yesterday by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap who has created an organizing committee headed by Undersecretary for Special Concerns Berna Romulo Puyat and co-chaired by Marriz Agbon, the president of the Philippine Agricultural Development and Commercial Corp. (PADCC), to handle preparations for the visit of a 28-man delegation comprised of representatives from Saudi Arabia’s government and private sectors.

The visit, scheduled from May 5-10, is in response to the invitation of President Arroyo to the Saudi government during her working visit to Saudi Arabia last February.

The Saudi delegation is scheduled to participate in the RP-KSA Business Forum and Business Matching organized by Puyat’s committee on May 6, followed by a dinner at the residence of Saudi Ambassador to Philippines Mohammed Ameen Wali.

The following day, the delegation will visit Bohol to explore possible investments in the rice and palm oil sub-sectors.

Puyat has proposed that the delegation also visit the cities of Davao and Gen. Santos to look into investments in the rice, banana, mariculture parks, commercial fisheries and fish processing subsectors; and in Bukidnon for possible ventures in the rice, banana, corn, pineapple, livestock, poultry and oil palm subsectors.

The KSA delegation will cap their visit with a courtesy call on President Arroyo, followed by a dinner to be hosted by Yap on May 8.

During President Arroyo’s visit last February to Riyadh, her official delegation, which included Yap and Puyat, discussed the proposal with their counterparts for Saudi Arabia to invest in food production in southern Philippines.

Saudi Arabia is the leading trading partner of the Philippines in the Arab Gulf States and in the entire Middle East.

Total two-way volume of trade between the Philippines and KSA registered remarkable growth in 2007, reaching S$3.6 billion as compared with $1.19 billion in 2003.

However, the balance of trade has always been in favor of Saudi Arabia owing to the Philippines’ large crude oil imports from KSA.

The Philippines buys 60 percent of its total petroleum needs from Saudi Arabia and the remaining 40 percent from various market sources.

Philippine exports to Saudi Arabia has been gradually gaining ground, climbing from a low of $39.3 million in 2003 to $66.69 million in 2007.

Top Philippine export products to the Saudi market include food and food preparations, marine products, agri-products, cosmetics and health care products. – Marianne Go