Exporters of products from the Philippines have expressed desire to participate in more product expositions and production support for raw materials, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday.

This came as the Philippines joined the 50th International Food and Beverage Exposition FOODEX Japan 2025, which runs from March 10 to 14, along with more than 80,000 exhibitors and over 4 million buyers across the globe.

At least 28 exhibitors from the Philippines featured products including banana, pineapple, hass avocado, coconut, coconut by-products, and other Filipino food products.

In a Zoom interview, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa assured support to the Filipino exporters.

“Nagre-request na itong mga ganitong exposition ay magtuloy-tuloy para mas ma-promote iyong ating mga produkto na galing dyan sa Pilipinas at ma-export. At ganun din matulungan sila, lalo na doon sa production ng mga (They are requesting for similar expositions to continue to promote our products from the Philippines better and export it. Likewise, to help them with the production of the) raw materials,” he said.

“Kasi karamihan ng production natin, nangangailangan iyan ng maraming volume, maganda quality, at saka competitive iyong (Because most of our production needs higher volume, good quality, at a competitive) price.”

In response to their requests, de Mesa said the DA will continue to review regulations to streamline procedures for exporters, improve the ease of doing business or have a single window for processing, and ensure the increase in production of raw materials.

He said it would be favorable for exports to have higher production to make raw materials cheaper like in Thailand and Vietnam. (PNA)