A taste for Filipino foods developing internationally

Despite stiff foreign competition, profitable niche markets exist for Philippine food products abroad. This view was shared by a number of major food processors and agribusiness specialists who recently participated in the Asian Ethnic Foodfest held at the World Trade Center in Manila.

Among such products that drew wide interest from international buyers and distributors were processed mango and coconut food products, as well as, processed seafood. While the growing Filipino population abroad is the main target of these products, demand from other market segments have grown as well. Increased interest was noted from buyers from China, Europe and the Middle East.

"You don’t have to tell me how good-tasting the Philippine mango is, I already know," said an agent of a large China-based firm that operates 150 hotels across the country.

He said he attended the food fair to meet with producers that can supply their chain of hotels with this prized Philippine delicacy. One surprise compliment came from a buyer from Thailand which had recently embarked on the commercial production of mango to cash in on the fruit’s growing international popularity. "There are mangoes and there is the Philippine mango," the buyer said.

Christina Ramos, manager of Sirawan Food Corp. said that never before had they received so many inquiries about their mango and coconut food products than in this year’s fair. For five years now, the firm has been aggressively promoting its products under the Sun Gee brand to Southeast Asian, Middle Eastern and European markets.

Ramos summed up the formula for their export marketing success: good packaging, consistent quality, and reliable supply.

"Foremost, of course, is to make the sale by being quick to respond to buyers’ inquiries and then following through with the negotiation," she said. She added that giving your products proper exposure is important to gain buyers’ recognition and trust, the reason why her firm regularly participates in trade fairs here and abroad.

This marketing tenet of "brand visibility" is shared by Rico Villareal, product development manager of another fair exhibitor, Alsons Aquaculture Corporation, which produces Saranggani brand processed bangus products. "It pays to be visible because buyers prefer products that already have an established presence," Villareal said. He attributed the many buyer inquiries that they received in this year’s ethnic foodfest to this increased level of visibility.

Villareal said that Saranggani makes it a point to be present and visible in most deli stores and supermarkets by way of regular product samplings cost-shared with their distributors.

Saranggani already has several successful distributorships across the United States catering to Filipino communities. Its products are now also available in Europe and will soon be in the Middle East.

"While we mainly target Filipinos abroad, we also keep a keen eye on other markets. Feedback from one of our distributors is that consumers of other nationalities and cultural backgrounds have taken a liking to our products. Assured of our Filipino consumer base abroad, we now also have the confidence to look at other markets...to cater to other Asians and non-Asians alike," Villareal said.

Sirawan’s Ramos, Saranggani’s Villareal agree that continuous product development and responsiveness to buyers’ preferences are key to food producers’ success in both the local and foreign market.

Meanwhile, Ramos said that more processing should be encouraged in Mindanao, the country’s richest raw materials base for its food and industrial products. She said that while the country’s major processors have buying stations in Mindanao, they do their processing elsewhere.

The inadequacy of processing facilities is most evident in our coconut industry she noted. "In Davao Oriental, one of the biggest coconut-producing provinces in the Philippines, processing is mainly confined to copra," she said. "if only the province can diversify its coconut processing, it can generate enough employment for its constituents," she added.

Ramos’ firm, based in Davao City, has for years advocated value-added processing of its coconut products. The firm produces a variety of coconut products in the form of cream, milk, flour and chips. Lately, it embarked on further value-added processing by extracting virgin oil from coconut residue. The firm markets the product to institutions for use in aromatherapy and the manufacture of health and beauty products.

For her part, Guia Minguez, agribusiness adviser of the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, said that what is equally needed is affirmative action on the part of government to enhance our trade competitiveness.

"The government needs to urgently review and reform policies that drive up shipping costs, particularly of small and medium-sized producers," Minguez said.

In a recent resolution to President Arroyo, Mindanao’s business community asked the government to encourage private investment in ports facilities and services as a way of lowering fees and improving services through free competition. They also asked that the Philippine Ports Authority discontinue the collection of tariffs at privately owned and operated ports.