MANILA – Philippine businesses must make better use of regional trade pacts to get more local products onto supermarket shelves across Asia, an economist at top conglomerate SM Investments Corporation said Tuesday.
Speaking at the inaugural RCEP Business and Investment Summit in Manila, SMIC economist Robert Dan Roces said that while foreign goods are increasingly common in domestic stores, Philippine items remain rare in neighboring countries.
“The proof of concept is how the grocery shelf is stocked. What we have to be able to do is to be present on all the shelves of the participating economies in RCEP,” Roces said.
“What we need to do is shorten the trip and make the outbound journey easier,” Roces said. “Look at what our supermarket buyers see here. There are many Korean, Japanese and Thai products on our shelves today. But if we look for Filipino products in supermarkets in Seoul or Bangkok, they are much harder to find.”
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which took effect in the Philippines in 2023, connects the 10 ASEAN economies with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand—a bloc representing nearly a third of global GDP.
However, business leaders stressed that reduced trade barriers alone will not guarantee regional success.
“RCEP opens the door, but Filipino products still have to earn their place on the shelf,” said SM Investments President and CEO Frederic DyBuncio. “Suppliers need to meet the quality, volume and consistency that larger markets demand. Businesses like ours can help them get there.”
Roces emphasized that true trade integration requires two-way movement across Asian borders.
“The real measure is not simply how many products come into the Philippines,” Roces said. “It is whether more Philippine products can make the journey out.”