The Philippines and Brunei have discussed production and export opportunities in a meeting held Wednesday involving the Department of Agriculture and Brunei’s top diplomat.
Agriculture senior undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and Brunei ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary Megawati Manan discussed possibly boosting the production and export of local Jasmine and sticky rice variants between over the next two to three year to help Brunei with its increasing demand for rice.
The discussion also looked at scholarship opportunities and collaborative hybrid rice research for Filipinos at the Universiti Teknologi Brunei – Center for Research on AgriFood Science and Technology, which is the sole research center for agriculture, food science and nutrition in Brunei.
Ambassador Manan laid out possibilities for the export of Halal beef, lamb and other meat products to the Philippines and opening Brunei to Filipino industries as a production hub of halal products.
Panganiban proposed the export and promotion of Philippine coconut peat, coconut oil, sweet corn, cacao, pineapples, mangos, avocados, durian, fishery products and poultry products to Brunei markets, especially through the Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
The officials also explored the possibility of renewing the memorandum of understanding on food security and cultural cooperation signed in 2011 but had lapsed in 2016 involving the development of agriculture, fisheries, food processing and Halal industries between the parties.
