450 local and int’l firms are expected to participate in PH’s biggest international food trade event
One hundred fifty million dollars or more than 7.78 billion pesos worth of export and domestic sales are expected to be generated by around 450 anticipated local and international food exhibitors in the upcoming 12th edition of IFEX Philippines on May 25 to 27, 2018 at the World Trade Center Metro Manila (WTCMM) and the Philippine Trade Training Center (PTTC).
This is the working target of its organizer: the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), which is the export promotion arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
“As we re-launch IFEX Philippines 2018 as an annual event, we are expecting the same high-level interest and excitement for Philippine products from trade buyers and visitors coming from different parts of the globe,” said Nora K. Terrado, DTI Undersecretary and CITEM officer-in-charge.
IFEX Philippines is the country’s biggest international trade exhibition on the Philippines and a promotion platform for Asia’s ethnic and specialty food, tropical fruits, vegetables, seafood, beverages, bakery and confectionery products, meat and poultry, Halal-certified products, as well as natural, organic, and healthy food products.
In 2017, it is one of the official key business events of the 50th founding anniversary and 30th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to capture the immense global demand for oriental flavors and drive up more trade opportunities between ASEAN and other countries.
Previously a biennial event, 2018 marks IFEX Philippines’ re-launch as an annual event to give more opportunities for Philippine companies to tap the rising global demand for premium and quality food products in different regions across the globe, including North and South America, Europe, East Asia, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia and many more.
“Marking its return as an annual event, IFEX Philippines 2018 will feature ‘The Best of the Seas’ which will highlight the country’s finest seafood to fulfill the growing global demand for marine product and coastal cuisines,” said Terrado.
To streamline export deals, DTI-CITEM opened its ‘IFEX Connect’ program, a customized platform for integrated business-to-business (B2B) matching services to help buyers identify and screen potential business partners among the exhibitors, in collaboration with DTI’s Export Marketing Bureau (EMB).
“We expect a more upbeat exchange of trade deals, sealing of partnerships, and knowledge transfer through our B2B activities and learning seminars,” said Terrado. “We hope to continue the strong showing of IFEX Philippines as recorded in its ever-increasing sales and high-satisfaction rating in its previous editions.”
IFEX Philippines by the numbers
In its previous four editions in 2011 to 2017, IFEX Philippines has already welcomed nearly 6,600 international and local buyers across the world: 1,270 in 2011, 1,259 in 2013, 1,976 in 2015 and 2,092 in 2017—increasing at an average of 14 percent over the past four editions.
From 2009 to 2017, the top 10 countries where these buyers came from are the United States, Japan, Singapore, China, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Taiwan and Canada, respectively.
The number of local and international exhibitors in IFEX Philippines also keeps on rising from 450 in 2011, 684 in 2013, 700 in 2015 to 802 in 2017, which sums up to a total of 2,636 exhibitors in its past four editions.
Its high exhibitor and buyer turnout from its previous four editions have translated to export and local sales totaling to US$365.65 million or P18.78 billion, netting export sales of US$22.16 million in 2011, US$51.9 million in 2013, US$106.9 million in 2015 and US$184.69 million in 2017.
“With high buyer satisfaction from the previous show, we expect to seal more export deals and partnerships this year with the rapid expansion in our food manufacturing sector and developments in the agriculture industry, which are the primary source of our premium export products,” said Terrado.
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The 12th edition of IFEX Philippines is organized by the DTI‐CITEM in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Department of Agriculture, through the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS).
Interested buyers or exhibitors can contact Ms. Zharita Bagayas, IFEX Philippines Lead Coordinator, at 831-2201 loc. 228 or at zbagayas@citem.com.ph, and Ms. Alex Lucas at831-2137 or e-mail her at alucas@citem.com.ph.
