A July U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission to the Philippines led by Agricultural Service Administrator Daniel Whitley resulted in participants having nearly $1 million in on-site sales and $7.25 million in projected 12-month sales.
The mission, which included “representatives from 29 U.S. agribusinesses and farm organizations and 10 state departments of agriculture,” had a goal of strengthening trade relationships and expanding export opportunities, a news release said.
“The primary goals were to produce mutually beneficial results to help expand trade, increase collaboration on key issues impacting agriculture in both our countries and ultimately strengthen Philippine food security,” Whitley said in the release.
Of utmost importance is the fact that trading partners want reliable suppliers, Whitley said, according to the release.
“There's one word that I walked away with from this mission – reliability,” Whitley said in the release.” “Consumers abroad view American agriculture to be the most reliable in the world. Our outstanding quality and our efforts to embrace the challenge to produce commodities that are more sustainable ensure Filipino consumers want our world-class ag and food products. We were excited to introduce all our talented suppliers and exporters to some of the world's finest buyers in the Philippines.”
Topics the mission focused on, according to the release, included “seeking lower tariffs for food products, which would help ease the burden of inflation and allow for people to spend money in other sectors of the economy; the launch of an Emerging Markets Program-funded African Swine Fever Project to control the spread of the disease along with training provided by the USDA to officials from the Philippine Department of Agriculture to improve veterinary services to ensure safe pork and pork products; and a memorandum of understanding signing between U.S. Grains Council and the Mariano Marcos State University to facilitate the exchange of best practices related to the biofuels industry and policy development,” the release reported.