SME Worldwide

Export Potential: Philippines

Questions you must ask yourself before you even think about exporting:
 
Who's your market? 
 
Food holds the highest potential among exportable commodities. Rosemarie Castillo, chief of the Food and Food Preparations Division of the bureau of Export Trade Promotion, suggests you try exporting ready to eat food or gourmet food, segments that are growing fast as a result of consumers' changing lifestyle.
 
Can you meet your market's needs? 
 
You must have all the resources to supply your market with the volume it needs. Your food must also pass the quality requirements of the importing country, so make sure you produce excess stocks to replace those that are rejected.
 
How do you enter your market? 
 
Identify your distribution channels abroad and then decide if you need to set up a foreign office or tap exclusive distributors. But first, you'll need the following before you can export anything:
 
A license to Operate and a Certificate of Product Registration from the Bureau of Food and Drugs. Microbial analysis for your product and tests to determine the presence or absence of bacteria such as aflatoxin or salmonella. A Good Manufacturing Practice certificate. You need this certificate to be approved for Hazard Analysis Control Point. Like the GMP certificate, Hazard Analysis certifies that your product is safe and made under hygienic conditions correct labels for your product. Different import markets have different labelling requirements. The European Union, for instance, requires labels in both English and French. Food bound for Muslim countries must be halal, and those intended for Jewish consumers must be kosher.
 
Exporting questions:
Bureau of Export Trade Promotions
Tel.: (02) 899-0107
Exporting seminars:
The Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc,
Tel.: (02) 833-2531
Email: communications@philexport.ph
Philippine Trade Training Center
Tel.: (02) 831-9988; (02) 834-1344 to 49 local 315