My posting schedule is a little “off” this week because I was in Manila for two days and had a little adventure, reaffirmed some old friendships and learned a lot about doing business in the Philippines.
Since Fridays are usually the day I write about business in the Philippines, you can consider this your regular Friday offering … subtitled “Business in the Philippines is Going to the Hogs”.
Going to the hogs? Yep, one of the things the lovely Unofficial Cook and I did while we were in Manila is attend the 18th Annual Hog Convention at the quite impressive Philippine World Trade Center Exhibition Hall in Pasay City, Metro Manila (right on the shore of Manila bay, near the US Embassy and the SM Mall of Asia).
We originally thought about going to this show because we own a small piece of property in Zambales (north of Manila along the costs, just above Subic Bay) that is being rather ineffectively used for rice production. In the future we may build a home there, and we want to explore the possibilities for making the land more productive, now and later.
This show, sponsored by the NATIONAL FEDERATION OF HOG FARMERS, INC. was not as much about pigs as it was about business, and especially teaching Filipinos to think outside the box that has been created that tags the Philippines as a third-world, “it can’t be done” nation. I was very favorably impressed.
Now a number of you who read this, especially those who are ‘casting about” for business ideas and ways to earn money in the Philippines are likely hovering over the “back arrow” as you read this, because for certain, raising pigs is not everyone’s cup of tea. And that’s fine. But read on just a few more paragraphs and you will perhaps see why I was impressed.
- Agriculture has one of the greatest potentials for growth in the Philippines.
- There is a heck of a lot more to the hog business than raising backyard pigs.
- There are a lot of foreign investors who even send their sales force to the Philippines trying to find people who want to earn money in sound businesses (production of pre-sold pedigreed stock is just one example). These folks don’t consider the Philippines third-world or second-class in any way.
- A number of foreign exhibitor were selling what was essentially simple data services. Data processing is an essential part of ‘growing’ ag business (or any business) and the many talented Filipinos out there in the computer science world seem to be hiding from success.
- The US Department of Agriculture provides a lot of direct aid to the Philippines … text books, seminars, consulting services. US folks seeking information from them … such as someone trying to help relatives set up an agricultural venture are almost unknown … nice folks at the USDA and the USAID, a valuable asset I didn’t even know I was paying for.
- As in the US, there is a lot of money in trade shows. By my actual count, and looking at the prices for booths and sponsorships, my educated guess is the Hog Federation cleared $100,000 to $200,000 USD on this event. Not pad pay for three days.
Anyway, that’s one of the the things that kept us busy last week … learned a lot, met some great people and got lot of technical materials and new ideas to try out. Have you attended any trade shows on businesses you are interested in … in your home country or living here in the Philippines?
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Hi Dave – I don’t know… I think I might feel offended if they even let me in at a “hog convention.” I mean, were the hogs having a convention, or the people who raise the hogs? Ha ha… couldn’t help it!
ha ha, I know, Bob. Mita and I both had ahec k of a laugh at our official badges … I should have scanned one in … they say we are “delegates”. I’m not big on political things, but aren’t ‘delegates” to conventions usually voting memebers of the organizing party?
Sad to say, we didn’t get to see the “Boss Hog” himself, or even Daisy Duke in her cutoff jeans. Sayang. At least it was free LoL.
I have visited a big hog farm in Gen San (one of the biggest if not the biggest in Mindanao). – long time residents of Gensan. Anyway, I was very impressed – very clean, not smelling and oh those cute litlle pink piggies.
Well there’s little doubt I’ll ever be into any big time operation like that one, Ellen, but yes indeed hogs can be raised smartly. Not sure of the farm you visited, but alot of farms don’t smell so mich any more becuase farmers are collecting the manure and digesting it for biogas (methane) production, which produces fuel similar to Shellane or other ‘stove gas’ LPG and can run diesel engines directly, say for pumping water, or generator sets to power the farm. The Phils government is doing a good job on getting the word out on this, I was pleasantly surprised how many exhibitors had already ‘taken the hint’.