The Philippines and Taiwan recently signed a pact to assist local small- and medium-scale food manufacturers and exporters, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.
In a statement, DTI said that a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation in food development for Filipino small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was recently signed in Taipei by the Manila Economic and Cultural Office and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines.
The project dubbed as “Taiwan Technology Mission to the Philippines” intends to boost the supply capabilities of domestic food-producing SMEs through technology-transfer activities between the two nations.
For this project, Taiwan has already committed to send experts who would assess Filipino food SMEs and then present recommendations to help these firms improve their competitiveness, DTI said.
The department added that the project would initially assist food SMEs and cooperatives engaged in the production of aquaculture, coffee and processed fruits products that come from the Cordillera Autonomous Region, Calabarzon and Visayas areas.
This project would be jointly implemented by the Philippines’ Bureau of Export Trade Promotion under the Trade department, Taiwan’s Small and Medium Enterprise Administration under its Ministry of Economic Affairs and by Taiwan Turnkey Project Association.
DTI said Taiwan is the ninth-largest Philippine export destination, with shipments of Filipino goods reaching $1.86 billion in 2008, albeit 5.81 percent lower compared with the $1.97-billion worth of products exported to the island-nation in 2007.
*source-Manila times
