Business Matching Mission to Bahrain Promotes PH Food Products  

Business Matching Session held at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, on 12 February 2023. (2nd row, L-R) Ms. Charmaine Mignon Yalong, Commercial Attaché, PTIC-Dubai, Mr. Bryan Jess T. Baguio, First Secretary and Consul, Ms. Bianca Myrtle Sykimte, Acting Director and OIC, DTI-EMB, CDA Anne Jalando-on Louis, Mr. Hussain Shabib, Senior Trade Relations, MOIC, Mrs. Hanadi Al Bastaki, Senior Statistician, Foreign Standards Specialist, MOIC, Mrs. Eman Al Bastaki, Standard Specialist, MOIC, and Mrs. Fatima Ahmed Mohammed Isa, Head of Standards Development, MOIC. (1st row, L-R) Mr. Al Mahdi Jul Ahmad, Senior Trade-Industry Development Specialist, DTI-EMB, Mr. Joshua Laurens Kho, Export Manager, Liwayway Marketing Corp., Mr. Roseller Enriquez, Senior Business Development Manager/Director, Turn Fruit Trading DMCC, Ms. Jean Mendoza, Export and Sales Manager, Eng Seng Food Products, Mr. Ferdinand Gregorio, Chief Operations Officer for Marketing, Sales, and Logistics, Lorenzana Food Corporation, Mr. Jawad Al Hawaj, President and Chairman, Al Hawaj Group, Mr. Abdulhassan Al Dairi, President, Bahrain SMEs Society, Ms. Marjorie Elaine Berdos, Trade Marketing Manager, Lorenzana Food Corporation, and Mr. Richard Jason Blanca and Mr. Michael Manalang, Export Directors, Pixcel Transglobal Foods Inc. (Manama PE photo)

MANAMA, 20 February 2023 – A Philippine Outbound Business Matching Mission to the Kingdom of Bahrain was organized on 11-13 February 2023 by the Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC)-Dubai and the Export Marketing Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in coordination with the Philippine Embassy in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain. 

The government-led business delegation included representatives from Philippine companies Eng Seng Food Products, Liwayway Marketing Corporation, Lorenzana Food Corporation, Pixel Transglobal Foods Inc., and Turn Fruit Trading DMCC. 

The outbound business mission aimed to promote Philippine brands and food products in Bahrain and the GCC region, and provided an opportunity to strengthen trade cooperation between the Philippines and Bahrain. 

A B2B matching session was held on 12 February 2023 at the Wyndham Grand Manama Hotel. The session was attended by approximately 50 participants comprising local importers and distributors, officials from the Bahraini government, representatives from the Bahrain SMEs Society, and members of the Filipino business community in Bahrain. 

Charge d’Affaires, a.i. Anne Jalando-on Louis of the Philippine Embassy, welcomed the participants to the B2B matching session and highlighted the readiness of the Philippines to strengthen its economic partnership with Bahrain. She encouraged the Bahraini private sector to look at the Philippines for their sourcing requirements, not only for food products but also for other sectors.

CDA Louis also noted the commemoration of the 45th Anniversary of the Establishment of Philippine-Bahrain Diplomatic Relations this year and looked forward to an even more robust trade relations with Bahrain, particularly through the support of local importers and business owners.  

Ms. Bianca Myrtle Sykimte, Acting Director and Officer-in-Charge of DTI-EMB, provided participants with an overview of the Philippines’ top export products and destinations. She also noted the ongoing efforts of the PHL government to boost trade with other countries, including Bahrain.

Mr. Michael Manalang, Export Director of Pixcel Transglobal Food Inc., spoke on behalf of the business delegation and expressed their keen interest in growing their business with Bahraini partners.

Mrs. Fatima Ahmed Mohamed Isa, Head of Standards Development, and Mrs. Hanadi Ali Hussain, Standards Specialist, of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) of the Kingdom of Bahrain delivered presentations on Philippines-Bahrain trade relations and on Bahrain’s import standards and technical regulations.

A variety of PHL products such as dried fruits (pineapple, mango and durian), coconut products, food snacks and chips, ready-to-drink beverages, sweet preserves, bottled seafood, condiments, spices and other ingredients were displayed during the event. 

After the B2B session, the Embassy assisted the Philippine delegation in conducting visits to supermarkets Al Jazira, Lulu, and Megamart. The delegation also toured Gudaibiya District, the main area in Bahrain where Filipino stores and restaurants are located. END

Philippine exporters with MOIC officials and local buyers and business owners during the business-to-business matching session on 12 February 2023. (Manama PE photo)

The members of the Philippine delegation with CDA Anne Jalando-on Louis during their visits to Al Jazira (top photos), with Mr. Ujjal Kumar Mukherje, Chief Executive Officer of Al Jazira Supermarket, and his team; (bottom left) Lulu, with Mr. Jafar Ambalathveettil Abdul Majeed, Supermarket Manager of LuLu Zinj-Galleria; and MegaMart (bottom right), with Mr. Jaykumar Sharma, Buyer-Commerce Manager of Mega Mart Supermarket. (Manama PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.manamape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.facebook.com/PHLinBahrain or https://www.instagram.com/phlinbahrain/.