Manila: According to officials speaking to Arab News as a special trade mission concluded its tour of the region on Saturday, the Philippines has identified the GCC market as a potential opportunity for the sale of healthy convenience foods.

The Outbound Business Matching Mission from the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry started on February 11 in Bahrain and ended this weekend in Dubai during Gulfood 2023, the biggest annual food and beverage expo in the world. It also visited Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE along the way.

To search for opportunities in the $3 trillion global industry and find a potential niche for themselves, 21 Filipino exporters of halal-certified food, personal care, and cosmetic products joined the mission.

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According to Glenn G. Pearanda, who is in charge of the Trade Promotions Group at the Department of Trade and Industry, the trend with the most traction is what they call "healthy convenience."
The Philippines already has a significant presence in the GCC markets as one of the top producers of agricultural goods in the world, particularly fruit, and with more than 2.2 million Filipinos residing and working there.
"There is a captive market wherever Filipinos are, but we also want to share these delicious, safe, and practical products with the mainstream

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"The Philippines is actively pursuing new partners and markets. There are numerous opportunities (in the GCC) as resources are being redistributed there and they are also looking  for partners to help them do that.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gulf countries have concentrated on ensuring stable supplies, he said, the food sector in particular presents a number of opportunities.

The Philippines is putting its efforts into making its products halal-certified and compliant with local regulations in order to guarantee that it can participate in that process.

"We can help them by acting as their partner," I'm very optimistic about our future," Pearanda said.

The main export from the Philippines to the GCC in 2022 was food products, which saw an 8% increase in value to $223 million. The nation wants to increase that amount by $100 million a year.

Although the special trade mission's attention was on GCC nations, Saudi Arabia, the largest, has not yet been visited.

The commercial attaché at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Dubai, Charmaine Mignon S. Yalong, stated that a separate roadshow is necessary for promotion efforts in the Kingdom.

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Saudi Arabia is significantly larger than the other GCC nations. Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam are always the three legs of our Saudi run, she told Arab News.

"It really calls for a committed effort... In the upcoming months, you'll have a unique and focused project for them.