Appetite for Quality Emerging in the Philippines
Since 1980, Manildra Group’s Australian-grown and made wheat-based products have been used in the Philippines to make traditional, breads, beer and candy, and in the paper and corrugating manufacturing industries.
Consumed largely in bakery products, wheat is an important part of the Filipino diet and by far the main grain exported to Australia’s 12th most-valuable market.
There is a growing appetite for quality and premium imported products in the Southeast Asian nation of almost 100 million people, with an expanding middle class tipped to become one of the world’s top five emerging markets in the next decade.
Demand for higher quality wheat products in the Philippines “is already evident”, according to an August 2019 report into the prospects for Australian grain in Southeast Asia.
“While not yet widespread, higher quality breads and upmarket bakery stores can be easily found in major cities and regional towns, and they are growing in popularity,” reported the Australian Export Grains Innovation Centre.
According to Austrade, Australian agribusiness exporters represent a growing percentage of the (Philippines) market, and are seen as a reliable source of major commodities and products (and) provider of innovative agricultural technologies and services that contribute to enhanced productivity.”
Market demand for Manildra Group’s diverse range of quality Australian products in the Philippines is backed by our global reputation for best-practice processes, reinvestment in state-of-the-art technology, and world-leading product innovation.
Manildra Group Export Sales Manager Adam Armstrong said our Australian family-owned agribusiness is a trusted supplier in the Philippines. “We have a loyal, continually expanding customer base in the Philippines who prioritise the quality that Australian products are recognised for,” said Mr Armstrong.
“Our quality is reflected in how our raw materials affect the performance of our customers’ finished products.”
A preference in the Philippines for high-quality Manildra Group products includes:
- Our very clean and pure, GMO-free, grain-neutral spirit – preferred for locally produced alcoholic drinks.
- Our wheat starch is used by beer manufacturers; to give good crunch to snack foods; to improve paper quality, board stiffness and adhesion; and in the popular pansit palabok traditional dish.
- Our premium durum semolina is favoured by local pasta and noodle-makers for the bright golden colour and firm texture it provides.
- Our udon noodle flour creates a chewy dough to make soft and fluffy steamed buns such as siopao bola-bola.
Manildra Group’s vital wheat gluten is also used by Philippines bakeries for making breads, such as the popular pan de sal traditional rolls, while our glucose goes into making candy, and our canola oil is used by manufacturers of retail cooking oil.
Manildra Group General Manager Peter Simpson said our Australian-grown and made ethanol, wheat starch and durum semolina all had an edge in the Philippines market for quality at competitive prices.
“We are also working on innovative bakery products, with our extensive range and knowledge of bakery and savoury premixes a real opportunity in a market dominated by franchises,” Mr Simpson told The Cultivator.
“Providing these franchise businesses a premium-quality solution in a consistent premix — which is of utmost importance to this rapidly growing segment of the Philippines food market — is where we believe Manildra can offer real value.”
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