DTI pushes for agribiz, logistics investments in Northern Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is encouraging investments in agribusiness and logistics in Northern Mindanao to allow businesses there to tap export opportunities in Southeast Asia and in Europe.

The DTI recently held a meeting with Northern Mindanao business leaders to discuss the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Community (AEC) and the country’s aim to forge stronger ties with Europe.

During the meeting, Trade assistant secretary Ceferino Rodolfo said encouraging investments in agriculture as well logistics would allow industries in Northern Mindanao to tap export opportunities overseas, particularly in Asean and Europe.

“Opportunities abound for growth and investment in fields such as agriculture, food processing, service-related industries and trade infrastructure services. Moving forward, we need to entice more investors to come and work closely with them so our local industries can provide the demand of our target markets abroad,” he said.

He said Northern Mindanao, which is the largest regional economy in the island of Mindanao, has the opportunity to benefit from increased demand from Asean and Europe.

The AEC, which would be in place by the end of this year, would create a region with free flow of goods, services, skilled labor, investments and capital.

The Philippines has already created open market access for industries and small and medium enterprises through tariff free trading across the borders of Asean.

As the Philippines was granted beneficiary status of the European Union’s Generalized System of Preferences Plus in December last year, businesses in Northern Mindanao could also export 66,274 products to any of the 28 members of the bloc at zero tariff for a period of 10 years.

Crucial to allowing Northern Mindanao businesses to tap export opportunities is ensuring the efficiency of its logistics network.

Apart from meeting with Northern Mindanao businesses, the DTI also inspected the Mindanao International Container Terminal Services Inc. in Cagayan de Oro. 

The terminal, which has a current capacity of 270,000 20-foot container vans, plans to expand both its berth length and container yard to help ease port congestion in Metro Manila.

“Other major ports outside of Metro Manila will be the gateway of our local SMEs and industries to their foreign markets, while at the national level, the continuing initiatives to ease port congestion will improve country productivity and allow us to deftly adapt to dynamic global market needs,” Rodolfo said.

“Advancing logistics is one of the key factors to maximize the benefits of international trade. A predictable and secure logistics network will help us realize the gains from regional economic integration,” he added.