By Gil Gabriel D. Ragil | Emerging Products Division (EPD) | DTI-Export Marketing Bureau
08 April 2019
Published also in Business Mirror
THE Philippines’s Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to Nuremberg, Germany, with Biofach and Vivaness 2019 held on February 11 to 20, 2019, earned actual sales of over $1 million and over $19 million in negotiated sales.
The mission sought to promote European Union certified-organic and natural products from the Philippines with niche markets in Germany and the rest in Europe as its target markets.
Germany is the biggest market for organic products in the EU with a 9.7-percent market share; the EU with a 37-percent global share is the second biggest single market for organic products, next to that of the US which has a 47-percent global share. The total global demand for certified-organic products has reached $90 billion over the past two decades and is projected to reach $300 billion by 2025.
A total of 14 Philippine companies participated this year—11 in Biofach 2019 and three in Vivaness 2019. Exhibiting at Biofach were Ahya Coco Organic Food Mfg. Corp., Century Pacific Agricultural Ventures Inc., Filipinas Organic Coconut Products Corp., JPM Eco Farms Inc., Lao Integrated Farms Inc., Raw Brown Sugar Mill Co. Inc., San Pablo Manufacturing Corp., Team Asia Corp., Treelife Coco Sugar, Tropicana Food Products Inc., and Wellnesscare Inc.
Elemie Naturals Inc., Galo Organic & Naturals Ventures and Giga Natural Products Specialist Corp were Vivaness 2019 pioneering Philippine participants.
Based on the participants’ daily sales reports, the top-selling products were coconut, moringa, muscovado, banana chips, pili-based cosmetics, and coconut-based personal care.
The mission also provided the Philippine participants invaluable experience and retail insights during the Store Checks conducted in Go Asia, EBL, Saleo Natureflege, Kaufland and Grune Erde.
Various business meetings gave Philippine company-representatives the chance to interact, deal, and negotiate with foreign buyers of organic and/or natural products.
The business meetings were conducted on the following agenda/topics: Visayas or Luzon-based Philippine suppliers of organic or natural fresh mangoes; a possible future link-up with importers, wholesalers and foreign traders of organic products, dried fruits and vegetables, spices, baked seeds and related goods; possibility of discounts and travel expense sponsorship for interested Philippine companies in the biggest organic show in China; the benefits of membership in the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (Ifoam); Philippine suppliers of certified-organic fruits and vegetables; and organic trade shows in Turkey.
Also discussed were opportunity for free company-listing at the Organic and Wellness News; Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific producers; the newest Biofach staging—Biofach Southeast Asia and the possibility of the Philippines’s hosting the event; Control Union Geo Services for organic farms; interest to source organic-certified jackfruit from the Philippines; interest to source organic-certified herbs and spices from the Philippines; sourcing Fairtrade-certified products from the Philippines; and opportunities to present natural and certified-organic products from the Philippines in Menope 2019
In line with this, the DTI-EMB, through its Emerging Products Division, will conduct activities regarding post Biofach and Vivaness 2019 in the coming months: lead a Debriefing and info session for the participants; monitor the status of sales leads; and discuss with the Organization of Organic and Natural Exporters Philippines Inc. Biofach/Shows in Emerging Markets (e.g., China and the Middle East).
It will also undertake support under the Regional Interactive Platform for Philippine Exporter (RIPPLES) Plus and monitor activities of ONE Philippines and its organizational meetings; conduct capacity-building sessions on green packaging, orientation intro on EU REX, company evaluation and capacity building for Export Pathways Program levelling, and recommend identified participating companies for enrollment in the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC) MSME Academy.