ASEAN seafood firms urged to make waves in IFEX Philippines 2018
DTI-CITEM invites Southeast Asian firms to exhibit in PH’s 1st seafood export trade show
The export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) invites seafood companies in Southeast Asia to join the first special edition of the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines to be held on 25-27 May 2018 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM).
Organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), IFEX Philippines is the country’s biggest and most respected food show for Asian heritage food and ingredients. It is the premier export event for emerging micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as esteemed large companies.
Previously held every two years, IFEX Philippines 2018 repositions as an annual event staging a special edition that focuses on the fast-growing seafood industry in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) community, featuring the theme “The Best of the Seas.”
“We are now accepting applications for those who want to join the special seafood edition of IFEX Philippines,” said CITEM Executive Director Clayton Tugonon. “It is the prime venue for ASEAN firms to drumbeat their brands, build a strong presence, expand their customer base, and benchmark their performance in the global market.”
As one of the official business events in the 30th ASEAN Summit, the recently concluded IFEX Philippines opened more trade opportunities and innovations in Southeast Asia with the participation of companies from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The three-day event was attended by nearly 11,000 international and local visitors, including 2,057 high-profile trade buyers from top global retail giants and supermarkets. These buyers came from different regions across the globe, such as Europe, China and SARs, Middle East, East Asia, America and Southeast Asia.
The IFEX 2017 edition surpassed its targets with $184.69 million (roughly P 9.23 billion) worth of export sales from 674 international and local exhibiting companies.
Among 12 product sectors in the event, seafood and marine products emerged as the top-earner, netting one-third or 33 percent of the total earnings with $61.79 million (roughly Php3.08 billion) export sales.
“In line with the Philippines’ chairmanship of this year’s ASEAN, IFEX Philippines will elevate efforts to achieve inclusive, innovation-led growth in Southeast Asia.,” explained Tugonon.
He added: “Following the huge demand in the previous show, we want to strengthen ASEAN’s market leadership in the global seafood market, especially since the fishing industry has been identified as one of the ASEAN’s twelve priority integration sectors.”
Based on a 2017 report of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center, the ASEAN region contributed approximately 21.6% of the world’s marine production with increasing trend from 16.9 million metric tons (MT) in 2000 to 42.2 million MT in 2014, or an average increase of 1.8 million MT per year or 6.8% annually.
Indonesia consistently contributed the highest portion at 20.6 million MT or nearly 49% of the region’s total production, followed by Viet Nam, Myanmar and Philippines at 6.3 million MT (15%), 5.0 million MT (12%), and 4.7 million MT (11%), respectively.
“By staging an ASEAN seafood show, we want MSMEs to attract more buyers through our business-matching program and contribute more to the global supply chain of seafood products,” Tugonon said. “We also would like to inspire innovation with engaging conferences.”
Invited to exhibit in the three-day event are local and international seafood producers, processors, and traders, as well as companies in allied industries, from 10 ASEAN countries, including Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“We also invited those companies from countries that are key trading partners of the Philippines. This includes the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Denmark, Norway, and Papua New Guinea,” Tugonon noted.
Local and foreign visitors of IFEX Philippines are comprised of importers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, consolidators, trading firms, retail chains, hoteliers and restaurateurs, airlines, ship chandlers, commissaries, caterers, service providers, and health and fitness specialists/consultants.
The 12th edition of IFEX Philippines is organized by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), with support from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
Interested parties may contact Ms. Leilani Santiago at 831-2201 local 263, or send an inquiry at [email protected].
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