Planned diligent compliance with Australian biosecurity laws, workforce assistance with an understaffed aged care sector and the expansion of the Philippines’ mining industry are ways a “trade imbalance” between the two nations can be rectified.

This is according to the secretary of the Philippines’ department of trade and investment Alfredo Pascual, who visited Adelaide yesterday for the first time to meet with local and interstate business leaders, SA’s Premier Peter Malinauskas and Federal foreign affairs Minister Penny Wong.

Bringing equilibrium to the trade relationship is of major importance to the Philippines, which signed a strategic partnership with Australia in September elevating ties between the two nations and formalising a commitment to cooperation.

Pascual sat down with business leaders for a round table yesterday as part of the sixth Philippines-Australia Ministerial Meeting (PAMM).

He said at the meeting that it was “crucial” that balance in trade should be struck between the two countries, and that the roundtable was “an opportunity for somebody like me to hear directly from the private sector, their concerns as well as some suggestions on how to make the Philippines more attractive to Australian investors”.

He heard from the likes of Adelaide-based Detmold group general manager Daniel Cross on the company’s Filipino operations, Murdoch University Pro Vice Chancellor at the Harry Butler Institute Dr Simon McKirdy on enhancing biosecurity compliance for exports to Australia, and Australia Philippines Business Council president Rafael Toda on the opportunity for Filipino workers in our aged care sector.

Speaking to InDaily exclusively after the business roundtable, Secretary Pascual said issues creating the trade imbalance would be addressed soon, and that he was pleased with recent breakthroughs such as being able to export the nation’s mangoes – the world’s sweetest according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

“Hopefully we can eventually address the issues that are preventing the import of Philippine bananas into Australia; that will be a major factor that can reduce the trade imbalance in favour of Australia and to the disadvantage of the Philippines,” he said, making reference to issues banana exporters have had with meeting Australian biosecurity requirements.

“While we might be negative balance with respect to trade in goods, there’s the potential for trade in services that can offset the trade deficit in goods.

“The Philippines is a major exporter of services, because we have a young, talented, dynamic workforce in the Philippines that provide services through our business process, outsourcing operations in the Philippines – almost all the major multinationals have operations in the Philippines.”

He hoped that more Australian companies would “see the advantage of making use of our business outsourcing companies that can support all types of operations”.

“It’s all sorts from design to architecture to backroom operations. In the case of multinational pharmaceutical companies; the surveillance of the impact of their medicine on people in different countries in Asia,” he said.

“Earlier we were talking about the possibility of Filipinos contributing to the need of Australia for health care workers with a special Visa. I think that’s good because there’s very clear rules – they’ll come [to Australia] to get training, they’ll work here for four years and then go back to the Philippines.

“That will also in a way address part of the deficit in the trade of goods because their earnings will be remitted back to the Philippines.”

There’s also a major opportunity for the Australian mining sector in the Philippines which counts electronic products like semiconductors as its largest global export.

The country overturned a nationwide ban on open-pit mining in December 2021 and Pascual encouraged Australian mining companies to consider the Philippines which has the third largest deposit of gold in the world, the fourth largest copper deposit, is the fifth largest nickel holder, and is the sixth richest in petroleum – all largely untapped resources.

“We encourage mining but we should not stop at mining; we would like the minerals produced or extracted from the Philippines to be processed into products that will add value to the minerals,” Secretary Pascual told the round table attendees.

“Currently, 90 per cent of nickel ores in the Philippines are exported mostly to China. Then we import batteries from China and we are effectively giving away to China the value addition that could be achieved in the Philippines.

“Hopefully we can work with experts in Australia in pursuing this ambition.”

Secretary for foreign affairs of the Republic of the Philippines Enrique Manalo and Philippine Consul to SA Carmen Garcia. Photo: David Simmons/InDaily.

Earlier in the day, Philippines’ Secretary for foreign affairs Enrique Manalo spoke to the importance of the two nations’ diplomatic relationship at an event hosted at the University of Adelaide.

He said the formal relationship between the two countries had been elevated following the signing of the strategic partnership, but that the pair’s “compelling commercial narrative” had been ongoing since 1800s.

“Trade between Manila and Sydney began as early as the 1800s when the Philippines – then under Spanish colonial rule – and Australia – still under the British – imported sugar, coffee and hemp from the Philippines,” Secretary Manalo said.

“Fast forward to 2022, Australia has emerged as the Philippines’ 14^th major trading partner, with our trade worth approximately US$3.36 billion.

“Further expansion is foreseen in the light of regional economic initiatives and tailwinds of the post-pandemic resurgence in the Indo-Pacific economies.”

He highlighted how more than 250 Australian companies employ more than 41,000 Filipinos across sectors such as business process management, infrastructure, banking, telecommunications and education.

Notably, companies like Macquarie Group, Telstra and Oceania Gold have established offices in the Philippines, while Filipino businesses have planted roots in Australia like the International Container Terminal Services in Melbourne.

“We must sustain this confidence and dynamism,” the Secretary said in his speech.

“Taking our relationship to the future requires new focus and partnerships, advancing climate-smart, green transition and economic development oriented to sustainability, resilience and inclusion.

“For the Philippines, advancing the bilateral relationship means being more people focused through outcomes that generate jobs and impact on communities. The more than 400,000 Filipinos in this country attest to the vibrant connections between our peoples, which sets the ground for more human centred bonds between the Philippines and Australia.”