01 February 2014 - On January 29, the Philippine Consulate General in Manado hosted the 2nd follow-up meeting with Supermarket Owners/Managers in North Sulawesi, which coincided with the 18th regular meeting of the North Sulawesi-Mindanao Business Council (NORSULMIN-BC) held at the Philippine Consulate General. Participants to the meeting included representatives from the largest retail/supermarket store chains in North Sulawesi: Hypermart Manado, Freshmart, Multimart, Mutiara, Golden Supermarket, Gelael Grand and Jumbo Supermarket; the Head of Customs-Bitung; the Executive Secretary of the BIMP-EAGA Secretariat Office in Manado; the Chairman of the North Minahasa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and members of the NORSULMIN-BC.
The meeting discussed the soft-launching of the Davao-Gensan-Bitung shipping service and the liberalization of import restrictions of foreign goods in Bitung Port, in order for the North Sulawesi market to source goods directly from Davao and General Santos for shops such as supermarkets in Manado. The meeting also discussed the preparatory aspects of the launch of the shipping service, in particular the selection of a shipping operator and the various goods that could be sourced from Southern Philippines to North Sulawesi. The Davao-Gensan-Bitung shipping service is expected to launch sometime in May 2014. END