MOZAMBIQUE Minister of Trade and Industry Ragendra de Sousa welcomed the first trade mission from the Philippines on September 2.
The trade mission was headed by Department of Trade and Industry-Export Marketing Bureau Director Senen M. Perlada. The delegation was composed of 10 companies representing food and food supplements, beverages, garments, office machines and furnishings, processing and packaging equipment for food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and information-technology business solutions and consultancy.
De Sousa stressed the need for collaboration between the Philippines and Mozambique, especially in the areas of agro-industry, education, health tourism and light industries. He said Mozambique could be used as the entry point to the Southern African Development Community, or Sadec, a market of 277 million people, which includes Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Swaziland, Tnazania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The mission’s itinerary included a visit to FACIM 2018, Mozambique’s prominent international trade show, and business-matching sessions with the members of the Mozambique Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Economic Association of Mozambique. A meeting with the top management of Mozambique’s major online supermarket, Izyshop, provided an opportunity for Philippine products to be offered online in Mozambique.
The mission was seen as a start of various strategic initiatives to improve Philippine-Mozambique trade relations.