The Department of Agriculture (DA) is beginning to reap early gains from its sweeping overhaul of the country’s agricultural export strategy.
At the center of the strategy is creation of a dedicated export office to drive efforts to open new markets, strengthen key industries, and turn more Philippine farm products into globally competitive brands.
The initiative marks a major shift in the DA’s approach. Rather than treating exports as one function under the High-Value Crops Development Program, the DA carved out a specialized office focused solely on export development, market access and industry coordination.
It started in January 2024 with the creation of the Export Development Office and reached a major milestone in April this year through Department Order No. 12, which established the High-Value Export Crops and Agri-Fishery Export Development and Promotion Program Management Office under Undersecretary Philip C. Young.
The office has identified priority export commodities based on their market potential. Traditional earners such as bananas, coconuts, pineapples and tobacco are being protected, while mangoes, seafood, seaweeds and salt are targeted for expansion. Emerging products including cacao, okra, coffee, calamansi, ube, dragon fruit, durian, moringa and natural fibers are also being developed to diversify the country’s export basket.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said the strategy goes beyond selling more products overseas. It is about correcting a long-standing trade imbalance that continues to drain opportunities from Filipino farmers.
“Our agricultural trade deficit has exceeded USD11 billion every year since 2022. That’s roughly three times the annual budget of the DA,” said Tiu Laurel. “Instead of creating jobs and incomes for Filipino farmers, that money is enriching producers in other countries,” he said.
Indeed, the country’s has shipped mangoes, saba, durian, pineapples, and avocado to nan-traditional markets that underscore the potential of the new export strategy .
“Every container of Philippine produce that reaches an overseas market helps narrow that gap. Expanding exports while improving local production is how we build a stronger agriculture sector and a stronger economy,” Tiu Laurel said.
The export office is also tackling structural bottlenecks that have constrained Philippine agriculture for years. Disease-control programs are underway for bananas and mangoes, while new processing facilities, product standards, certification systems, demonstration farms and industry federations are being developed for cacao, ube, pomelo, dragon fruit, and other emerging export crops.
Young said the early progress demonstrates what a focused export strategy can accomplish but stressed that much more work lies ahead.
“We’re seeing stronger coordination across the department, better industry engagement, and growing momentum in several commodity sectors. These are encouraging early results, but we have to move faster and scale up our efforts,” said Young.
“Every export opportunity we unlock means better incomes for our farmers, more investments in rural communities, and stronger growth for the Philippine economy,” he added.
And by aligning government agencies around a single export agenda, the DA is positioning Philippine agriculture to compete more aggressively in global markets.
