SSGA ‘IP B2B’ Philippines event kicks off

The Philippines moved up the charts in 2020, rising to No. 8 in U.S. export value, Morgan Haas, agricultural counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, told attendees of the Specialty Soya and Grains Alliance’s (SSGA) U.S. Identity-Preserved Soya and Specialty Grains Virtual Seminar, which began Monday evening (Tuesday morning, Philippines time).

Haas said during his opening remarks that U.S. ag exports to the Philippines set a record, totaling $3.2 billion in 2020.

“It’s an important market and a growing market, and it’s growing more and more,” Haas told the group of U.S. IP soya and specialty grains exporters and Philippines food manufactures. Representatives of those companies will be meeting individually later today (Tuesday, Wednesday in the Philippines) in a new SSGA business-to-business event called “IP B2B,” as part of the seminar.

According to Haas, the only country that gained more in U.S. ag export value than the Philippines in 2020 was China.

Following Haas was SSGA Chair Bob Sinner, president of SB&B Foods, who spoke about the IP process U.S. producers, processors and shippers go through. Sinner called U.S. IP “the gold standard of supply.”

“These are specific varieties for specific food use,” Sinner explained, “with full transparency and traceability as they follow the entire value chain.”

Timothy Loh, U.S. Soybean Export Council regional director for Southeast Asia, presented on sustainability initiatives, including the U.S. Soy Sustainability Assurance Protocol, which assures buyers that guidelines have been followed for responsible farming.

Manuel Sanchez, U.S. Grains Council regional director for Southeast Asia, gave a U.S. corn harvest quality report, stressing that the Philippines are a top-five country for U.S. corn exports.

The final speaker was Adam Sackett, director of sales operations and business development for Insta-Pro International, who gave a presentation on extrusion technologies.

The program was moderated by Hoa Huynh, SSGA technical adviser for Southeast Asia, and SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg delivered the closing comments.

Day 2, which takes place 7-9 p.m. CST Tuesday (09:00-11:00 PHT Wednesday) will feature the IP B2B meetings, following a report on the Philippines market from Ryan Bedford, agricultural attaché from USDA Foreign Agricultural Service-Manila.

There also will be presentations for attendees not participating in the IP B2B, including Chrissy Harris of Rabbit/broadhead on SSGA’s U.S. IP branding project, Ingrid Rix of Spire Research and Consulting on research conducted for SSGA on the Philippines market for IP field crops and Brian Sorenson of Northern Crops Institute on NCI’s upcoming educational courses.