Philippines: Food Processing Ingredients
The Philippines’ rapidly expanding production of processed foods and beverages (f&b) presents robust opportunities for U.S. exporters of agricultural raw materials and high value ingredients. Quadrupling in recent years to over $27 billion, f&b processing comprised 50 percent of the Philippines’ total manufactured output in 2013. Roughly 90 percent of the Philippine f&b processing industry’s output is consumed domestically, with excellent growth prospects stemming from the country’s resilient economy and strong consumer base. In addition, as quality and efficiency continue to improve, the
Philippines will be in a position to exploit export opportunities due to its strategic location and membership in various free trade agreements. The Philippine f&b processing industry’s growing use of U.S. agricultural ingredients provides a valuable path for U.S. and Philippine exports to grow in tandem. The Philippines continues to be a top ten market in the world for total U.S. agricultural exports with record sales of $2.7 billion in 2013, up 11 percent from the previous year. About 65 percent of U.S. agricultural exports to the Philippines flow through the f&b processing industry. Wheat, dairy,
meat, and poultry comprise the bulk of sales, but other items such as dried fruits and nuts play a vital and increasingly important role.
