The Philippines is an agricultural country with almost 40 percent of its population dependent on agriculture. It has been blessed with substantial size of arable land, about 47 percent, which is bigger than China on a per capita basis. With available land and favorable agro-climatic conditions especially in Mindanao, food, that includes fresh and processed, has been identified as one of the top priority revenue streams on which the country exhibits competitive advantage.

Among processed food exports, processed fruits represented 33% or US$ 364.78 million of exports. Major exports under this group were prepared/preserved pineapples and mixture of fruits which represented 59% share or US$ 214.45 million; dried fruits such as mangoes, pineapples and papayas and banana chips accounted for 16% share or US$ 58.64 million; and juices, concentrates and purees represented 22% share or US$81.49 million. Desiccated coconut accounted for 90% of exports of coconut products valued at US$ 247.52 million. Dairy products such as cream, cheese curd and ice cream on the other hand accounted for 17% share or US$ 183.87 million. Other notable processed food exports were cereal and flour based products such as biscuits, pastries and bakery products, coffee, confectionery, meat preparations, nuts and sugar.

Marine and aquaculture products which accounted for 27% share of the total were basically tuna with 63% share or US$ 395.50 million, and shrimps and prawns with 11% share or US$ 71.02 million. Export of milkfish has been growing for the past years with total sales of US$ 10.56 million in 2008.

Despite substantial food exports in the US, expanding the export of Philippine food products in said market still presents an excellent opportunity. This is due to the presence of a considerable number of Filipino-Americans in the US. A study shows that Filipinos are the 2^nd largest Asian immigrant group in the US with the 2^nd highest household income. Filipino accounts for 22% of the total Asian immigrants with China accounting for 35%.

It is high time then for Filipino-Americans to take hold of this excellent opportunity and invest in the Philippines in the production, processing and marketing of Philippine made food products.

The Philippine government is encouraging investments in the production and processing of high value commercial crops that include mango, banana, pineapple and coconut, among others. It also encourages investment in new technology particularly those that will be used in the preparation of healthy foods such as freeze-dried fruits, microwave puffed fruits and banana chips cooked without oil and manufacturing of frozen fruits, fruit puree/concentrate, and fruit juices.