RP eyes share of big market for halal foods in Middle East

source: http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS20081116141017.html

The country is looking at a 500 billion dollar market in the middle east. Since it has been known that the country's agricultural products are free from any diseases, such as bird flu and foot and mouth disease, the country is taking advantage of exporting agricultural products, like dairy, poultry, and fruits, to such countries. I think that by exporting products to other countries the country would experience economic growth. Billions of dollars would enter the country, but the government should make sure that those billions of dollars would be allotted for a good cause. Another advantage of exporting agricultural products is that the country would be known as an exporter of good quality and disease free products, thus because of this, other countries not part of the middle east, may try to contact the country and would also decide to import agricultural products from us. One thing that the country should do is to maintain quality products. By exporting products to other countries the country could sustain economic growth, and also by doing this, the country could stop depending on other states for economic reasons.

However, I think that before exporting products to other countries, the country should see if there is enough agricultural products that can supply the demand of the country. I mean there are still a lot of Filipinos who can't eat three times a day. The country should prioritize them first rather than exporting as many agricultural products to other countries.

There is advantages as well as disadvantages to this situation. However if the government can come up with a way of exporting products without compromising the supply here in the country, then I believe that by exporting agricultural products would be a great benefit to our country.