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BusinessWorld OnlineTHE GOVERNMENT needs to make credit for food exporters more accessible and must speed up improvement of food testing facilities, so firms can meet rising demand abroad, an industry leader said.
This recommendation comes as the Bureau of Export Trade Promotions (BETP) expects food shipments to be among the drivers of export growth in 2009, even as exports of processed food and edible farm produce made up just 8.2%, at $3.189 billion, of the $38.868-billion total exports in the nine months to last September. BETP projects food export sales to increase by a fifth next year, but the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization believes it will be just 10%-12%.
Philfoodex President Roberto C. Amores said in a phone interview that buyers abroad have been asking for extensions in payment deadlines because of the credit crunch. To service these orders, local food processors will need loans in the meantime, Mr. Amores said. "It is very important for government financial institutions to aggresively extend credit facilities to qualified food proessors and exporters," he stressed.
Also, inspection facilities need to be improved so food shipments can comply with increasingly strict health and safety requirements abroad, Mr. Amores added.
Rose Marie G. Castillo, chief of the BETP food and food preparations division, said that while demand for food exports is strong, it is supply of certified exports that is lacking. The US, Europe and Japan continue to be the main markets for food exports, she said, while China, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe are prospective markets. — J. A. D. Hermosa
