15 November 2016 - Philippine Secretary of Agriculture Emmanuel P. Piñol called for an equitable and win-win trade relationship between the Philippines and Canada during a recent trade and investment mission to Canada from October 27 to 30.
Secretary Piñol was accompanied by members of his delegation: Deputy Cabinet Secretary Peter Tiu Laviña from the Office of Participatory Governance of the Office of the President; Vice Mayor Joselito Pifiol of M'lang, North Cotabato; and Andrei Natabio, media officer at the Office of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.
Philippine Ambassador to Ottawa Petronila P. Garcia, Deputy Chief of Mission Francisco Noel Fernandez, and Minister and Consul General Eric Gerardo from the Philippine Embassy n Ottawa, as well as Consul General Rosalita Prospero and Deputy Consul General Bernadette Fernandez from the Philippine Consulate General Office in Toronto, joined the Secretary and his delegation in their various meetings and discussions in Toronto.
At the business gatherings, Secretary Piñol presented the latest updates on the agriculture development and food security program of the Philippines. Secretary Piñol received strong expressions of interest from businessmen on investing in, and trading with, the Philippines.
The Secretary also signed a memorandum of understanding on the application of advanced tracking technology from Canada for the Philippine fisheries sector and expressed interest in pursuing Ceiba (Kapok) tree culture and production in the Philippines.
Secretary Piñol noted the moral obligation of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to ensure that food is made available and affordable to the Filipino people.
Various representatives of Canadian companies and organizations came to see and hear Secretary Piñol including representatives form Wilkinson Meat products, T&T Supermarket, Maple Leaf Food, Basset and Walker and visiting delegates of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Distinguished members of the business community such as George Cohon, founder of McDonalds Canada, also met with the Secretary.
Secretary Piñol signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with NAVCAST Canada that seeks to initiate a joint study for the development of an IT-based system to register, identify, locate, track and monitor fishing vessels to assist the Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in its promotion and enforcement of fisheries laws.
Secretary Piñol also met with representatives from the Ontario Provincial government responsible for agriculture, international trade, citizenship and immigration led by Deputy Minister Shirley Phillips.
In 2015, the Philippines ranked 11th largest trading partner of Canada among 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Total merchandise trade for 2015 stood at C$2.1 billion. The Philippines is currently the 20th biggest market for Canada for agri-food and seafood amounting to about CAD$368 million as of the end of 2015.
Canadian cereals and meat products are the primary food exports of Canada to the Philippines. Meanwhile, the Philippines exported over CAD$215 million agri-food and seafood products, mostly edible nuts and oil, over the same period making the Philippines the 30th biggest supplier of food products into Canada.
Canada's total trade with the Philippines comprises 2.1% of its trade with the rest of the world. Canada designated the Philippines as Priority Emerging Market as well as a Country of Focus for Development Cooperation. The Philippines remains in the list of economies granted General Preferential Tariff (GPT) by Canada, under which t provides duty-free entry to several products from various developing countries and customs territories. END