Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Alaa Farouk has met a high-level Philippine delegation to discuss prospects for expanding bilateral agricultural cooperation and removing barriers to agricultural exports between the two countries.
The delegation was headed by Zamzamin Ampatuan, Undersecretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture for Mindanao Affairs and Director of the Halal Food Industry Development Programme, and included Crystal Donuan, Chargé d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy in Cairo.
During the meeting, Farouk stressed the strategic importance of opening the Philippine market to Egyptian agricultural products, particularly table potatoes, grapes, onions and garlic. He said an official invitation has been extended to his Philippine counterpart to visit Egypt in the coming months to review recent developments in Egypt’s agricultural quarantine system and assess the international quality standards applied by the country.
The proposed visit, he explained, aims to finalise technical market-access files and pave the way for the launch of actual exports to the Philippine market.
Farouk also directed that all necessary logistical and technical facilitation be provided, alongside establishing direct communication channels between Egyptian exporters and Philippine importers. He said these measures would help accelerate trade in agricultural and animal-origin products between the two sides.
For their part, the Philippine delegation expressed interest in drawing on Egypt’s expertise in the frozen poultry sector to help address shortages in the Philippine market. They also highlighted the importance of halal food products, given that the Muslim population in the Philippines exceeds eight million people.
The meeting also reviewed recent progress in bilateral trade, including Egypt’s completion of procedures allowing Philippine durian to enter the Egyptian market. The Philippine side further expressed interest in exporting additional high-quality agricultural products, including bananas, pineapples, mangoes and coconuts.
