Farm exports value addition seen key to maximizing FTAs

By Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel

PROPER TRAINING in sanitary procedures for farm exports  training, increased productivity, and value addition are considered crucial for maximizing the benefits of free trade for the agriculture industry, analysts said.

“We need to properly train our agri exporters to comply with international sanitary and phytosanitary standards, particularly those of importing countries we are targeting,” Former Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano told BusinessWorld via Viber.

He said this would require the Department of Agriculture (DA) to do more developmental work to help local producers gain the skills required for exporting.

Mr. Adriano also cited the need for investments in food packaging engineering to improve the packaging of food and processed food products to make them attractive to buyers in importing countries.

On Jan. 13, the Philippines signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its first free trade agreement (FTA) with a Middle Eastern country.

The agreement provides for the reduction or elimination of tariffs on key exports, including agricultural goods, electronics, and processed food products, improving market access to the UAE.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the UAE was the Philippines’ 18^th largest trading partner in 2024, with bilateral trade amounting to $1.83 billion.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the pact is expected to boost agricultural exports, particularly fruit, seafood, and processed products.

The Presidential Communications Office said key products poised to benefit from the CEPA include bananas, pineapples, tuna, and tuna-based products.

The PSA said in the first 11 months of 2025, exports of fresh pineapple to the UAE amounted to $14.39 million, while banana shipments totaled $12.23 million. Exports of pineapple products were valued at $1.36 million, and tuna and tuna-based products $2.61 million.

For farmers and exporters of agricultural products to realize the potential of FTAs, investments must be poured into training, upskilling, and increasing productivity, former Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar told BusinessWorld.

“The government must partner with these agribusiness companies to continue developing new varieties and promote the best technologies to boost productivity and sustain quality and volume,” he said via Viber.

Mr. Adriano said improving farm and agrifood processing productivity will also improve price competitiveness against rival exporters without compromising product quality.

Mr. Dar said exporters should also diversify markets for their products. “With diversified markets, the companies exporting such products can demand better prices,” he said.

Jose Enrique A. Africa, executive director of think tank IBON Foundation, said the full benefits of any FTA lies in producing higher value-added products.

“As it is, our export profile remains concentrated in primary and low-processed goods, and there is, for instance, no national industrialization policy to move into higher value-added products,” he told BusinessWorld via Viber.

Mr. Africa said priority should be given to value addition and product quality, which should be done sustainably and inclusively. “In particular, small rural producers should be supported to make export gains more broad-based among communities in the countryside,” he said.