The Department of Agriculture (DA) urged producers and exporters of canned tuna here to increase their shipments to the Middle East and the North African (MENA) region in the wake of the rising demand in its markets.
Gil Herico, agriculture attaché of the Philippine embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said the MENA region appears to be the best option for local canned tuna exporters in terms of market expansion as the demand for the product in the area has been steadily increasing in the past several years.
He said the surge in the demand for canned tuna could be attributed to the continuing growth of the region’s agriculture-based food supply imports, especially among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The GCC — a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf — comprise Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE.
