In the Philippines Southern Mindanao tuna exporters should take advantage of the situation in Iraq, according to regional director Merly Cruz of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region XI.
Cruz also said that Davao City should also start developing it tuna industry because "many big importers in Dubai are waiting to buy tuna." She said there is a need to explore this new market because it may be better than the other markets, which impose high tariff rates.
She urged exporters to strengthen the presence of their products in Middle East markets because many of the areas in the Arabian Peninsula may have not been producing because of fear of war.
Cruz said what must be done is for the business sector to strengthen the access that it has opened after the trade mission that was launched last year to the Dubai market which enticed the interest of the Dubai importers to buy Filipino-made products.
The business sector through the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCI) collaborated with the DTI in launching a trade mission in Dubai that saw an initial US$25.1 million agreement for the purchase of local products.
Some company representatives in the Middle East, as a result of the trade mission, even visited the Southern Mindanao region for themselves to look at the products of the region and its capacity to produce these products.