Country Overview

• 102mil. Annual growth rate of 1.59%. Second most populous ASEAN country
• 53% below 24 years old
• 44% living in urban areas

Positive outlook. The World Bank projects that real GDP will grow at a rate of 6.9 percent in 2017 and 2018. GDP was about USD 310bn in 2016. Supported by sound domestic macroeconomic fundamentals and an accelerating recovery among other emerging markets and developing economies, the Philippines is expected to remain one of Asia’s top growth performers. Source: World Bank (May 2017)

• Strong food industry. 30% of the economy is based on agriculture which, besides supplying the Philippines is also export oriented therefore needs for the latest processing and packaging automation and technology are in high demand
• Food sales are forecast to rise by a steady 8.6% a year over the next five years from 2017 to 2021
• Sales of fish and fish products are forecast to grow by an average of 11.2% a year through to 2021 to PHP1,334.6bn. This is the Philippines largest food segment
• Sales of meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables are also forecasted to see strong growth
• Strong growth in sales of carbonated drinks are forecast at 10.2% a year through to 2021. In terms of overall sales, fruit and vegetable juices are the largest segment with PHP142.0bn and carbonated drinks ranked second with PHP142.0bn
• Coffee, tea and other hot drinks will see robust growth averaging 10.3% a year through to 2021, to reach PHP223.0bn
• Modern grocery retailers remain the key distribution channel for packaged food in the Philippines
• Lazada Philippines is the biggest player in the internet retailing channel, which was the most dynamic channel in 2016
• Pharmaceuticals sales reached PHP156.2bn in 2016 and are forecast to rise 3.9% to PHP162.3bn in 2017
• Healthcare sales reached PHP722.3bn in 2016 and are forecast to rise 9.9% to PHP794.0bn in 2017
• Government financially supports this sector
*FX rate: 1 USD = 51.02 PHP (October 2017)