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TAIPEI—Chicken
grown in the Philippines being avian flu-free, the
Taiwan government will open their market to Filipino
exporters starting next year. This was reported by Nic
Bautista, the commercial attaché of the Manila Economic
and Cultural Office (Meco), who added that their next
target is the opening of the pork and beef market to
Filipino businessmen. “So the question now is if we have
the capacity to supply.”
One
company with a large production waiting for this
development is San Miguel Corp., which is aggressively
making forays into Asian markets.
For pork
and beef, Bautista said Meco has already submitted to
the Taiwanese government the pertinent documents so the
inspection process can begin immediately.
The
Taiwanese experts, he said, will come to the Philippines
to work with the Filipino veterinarians on the
inspection, which could take up to three years if the
country’s experience with Japan is a gauge. “Import risk
assessments take time.”
He said
Meco’s thrust now is to improve the technology of the
Philippine agribusiness sector so that exporters can put
more value-added to their products. Bautista said
present Philippine agricultural exports to Taiwan are
mostly the “catch/harvest and ship types.”
He said
they are enticing Filipino producers to partner with
Taiwanese companies so they could acquire more advanced
technologies in food processing and packaging.
He said
Meco recently brought to the Philippines 10 Taiwanese
firms to offer to Filipino farmers and food processors
their technology. |
