The Agri sector emerged as the biggest winner from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s latest state visit to South Korea after Seoul’s largest supermarket chain, EMart, sealed a three-year fruit and food supply deal worth P28 billion with the Philippines.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol said that the agreement with EMart is the biggest business deal with a single company by the Philippines that was made possible through the direct intervention of a sitting president.
The Department of Agriculture initiated the engagement with EMart through its South Korea attache Aleli Maghirang, who was assisted by the Philippine Embassy staff under Ambassador Raul Hernandez and the International Affairs Division of DA.
EMart even hosted the week-long Philippine Food Festival which was opened by Mr. Duterte and will last until June 12, the Philippines’ Independence Day celebration. The festival prominently displays Philippine fruits and processed products.
EMart president and chief executive officer Gab-soo Lee welcomed the Philippine president at the EMart main outlet in Seongsu District in Seoul late Tuesday afternoon and told Mr. Duterte that the supply deal could go beyond the targeted level because of the huge demand for Philippine fruits in South Korea.
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“Philippine bananas Number 1,” Lee told an obviously pleased President Duterte who came along with the other members of his cabinet. The executive added that EMart prefers to source its fruit supplies from the Philippines because of its proximity to South Korea which translates to fresher deliveries.
South Korean business newspapers ran prominent stories about the deal and featured Mr. Duterte’s visit to the supermarket.
EMart’s most significant purchase includes bananas, pineapple, and mango which account for 58% of its total procurement from the Philippines.
EMart, a sister company of Samsung, Shinsegae Food, and Shinsegae Duty-Free, is South Korea’s biggest supermarket chain with 153 outlets nationwide, including a newly-opened branch in Vietnam. The supermarket traditionally buys its fruits from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and South America.
Pinol added that the supply deal is expected to boost Philippine agriculture and benefit thousands of Filipino farmers.
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