THERE’S a growing demand of certification services from homegrown companies in Cebu and the southern Philippines.
Jose Decolongon, business manager of the Agriculture, Food, and Life (AFL) division at SGS Philippines, said that as local players take more risks due to an increased number of opportunities for growth, investing in certification becomes imperative.
“Manufacturers in Cebu and the Visayas want to compete not only in the domestic market but also in exports. A lot of doors have opened up for us including Russia and China, both of which are very particular with the quality of products they import,” Decolongon said in a media roundtable on Wednesday.
SGS, which is a global inspection, verification, testing, and certification company, began operations in the Philippines and in Cebu since 1949 and 1980, respectively.
The firm provides risk management and quality assurance assistance to both local and multinational corporations operating in the country.
Among the industries it serves are agriculture and food, automotive, chemical, construction, consumer goods and retail, energy, finance, industrial manufacturing, life science, logistics, mining, oil and gas, public sector, and trade.
SGS provides solutions for every step of the value chain such as farm to table in the case of the agrifood sector.
Decolongon said a company’s clients might not require certain standards today, but it eventually would in the future.
He said some clients in the food industry would only ask for a hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) certification before, but now they would also demand a Food Safety System Certification (FSSC), which would provide a framework for effectively managing an organization’s food safety responsibilities.
He said that if businesses would not level up their standards, the worst that could happen would be that they would lose their clients.
“Consumers now require a higher level of standards from the companies they deal with,” he added.
Decolongon cited one of their clients, a big player in the fast food industry, which had required all its suppliers to secure documents on Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and eventually FSSC as well.
He added that although some of the Philippines’ export markets had lowered or completely removed tariffs, they had also raised standards for quality in order to protect local consumers.
Decolongon said that in terms of revenue contribution, oil and gas is the biggest, followed by mining, then agriculture and food, which is the fastest growing market.
One of their biggest clients in the AFL division is Cebu-based dried mangoes manufacturer 7D.
SGS Philippines’ AFL division has 16 clients in Cebu. This doesn’t include the global company’s clients from other industries.
Ysabel Ventura, head of the food service and hospitality segment in the AFL division, said they see a huge opportunity in food manufacturing in the country, particularly in Cebu.
She said that out of the 22 top food manufacturing players in the Philippines, four are house brands of Cebu including 7D, M. Lhuillier, Profood, and Cebu Legacy.