By Zac Sarian
Why Canada is known for best agri-products and one of the most reliable market among several countries.
by Zac B. Sarian
After reading our article on jackfruit as a big business in Vietnam, Jette, a Filipino who is living in Calgary, Canada, reports that she has seen first hand how agri-products from Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and China are marketed in big volumes in that country. Their products, one of them jackfruit, are everywhere, especially in Asian stores. Unfortunately, not much come from the Philippines.
Pompano is one of few Philippine products found in Canada markets.
The agri products come in processed forms, frozen or fresh. Aside from jackfruit, there are durians, Thai mangoes, longans, bilimbi (kamias), dragon fruit, passion fruit, chico, kaimito, etc. Then there are the taro roots, stems and leaves, kamote tops of different varieties, banana leaves, and others.
Jette says that fish products are mostly from Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand. Tuna is sold in Canada at 12 to 13 Canadian dollars per pound. “I wish the Philippines would compete with this since I know we export a lot of this. I only see bangus, Philippine pompano and galunggong here.
“It is sad that I don’t see much competition from the Philippines. And sadly, a lot of our product prices are also that not competitive. For Philippine candies, delicacies and ice creams, they are doing good. However, I would be happy and proud to see more Philippine products in store shelves. On the other hand, I don’t feel too homesick now because I can easily find the basic ingredients of my Pinoy fave foods.”
This story appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s April 2017 issue.
