Business World | Saturday, May 9, 2009
DAVAO CITY — The government has invited visiting investors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to invest in the halal food industry, said Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap, who accompanied the 26-member Saudi delegation. "They have the fund...we have to find a way to convince them to invest in the Philippines," he said.
The concept that he has presented to the investors, Mr. Yap explained, is to produce commodities in Mindanao and ship them out to foreign buyers, particularly in the Middle East.
Ishak V. Mastura, deputy executive secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said while the Saudi traders know that parts of the region are under threat of conflict, they also know there are ideal areas in Mindanao suited to agricultural production, including those that could meet the demand of the global halal market. The country’s halal program has failed to take off even within the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area. An earlier concept was for Mindanao to lead the Philippine halal food production, considering its poultry industry was not affected by bird flu.
The first major attempt in recent years to lure Saudi investors to invest in Mindanao was in 2007 when the Philippines and Saudi Arabia exchanged trade missions. Late last year, another trade mission from Saudi Arabia went to Davao Oriental to look for possible areas for rice and corn production. — CQF
DAVAO CITY — The government has invited visiting investors from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to invest in the halal food industry, said Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap, who accompanied the 26-member Saudi delegation. "They have the fund...we have to find a way to convince them to invest in the Philippines," he said.
The concept that he has presented to the investors, Mr. Yap explained, is to produce commodities in Mindanao and ship them out to foreign buyers, particularly in the Middle East.
Ishak V. Mastura, deputy executive secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said while the Saudi traders know that parts of the region are under threat of conflict, they also know there are ideal areas in Mindanao suited to agricultural production, including those that could meet the demand of the global halal market. The country’s halal program has failed to take off even within the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area. An earlier concept was for Mindanao to lead the Philippine halal food production, considering its poultry industry was not affected by bird flu.
The first major attempt in recent years to lure Saudi investors to invest in Mindanao was in 2007 when the Philippines and Saudi Arabia exchanged trade missions. Late last year, another trade mission from Saudi Arabia went to Davao Oriental to look for possible areas for rice and corn production. — CQF
