Philippine hybrid rice producer hopes to capture profitable market in China

The country’s leading hybrid rice producer SL Agritech Corp. seeks to bag a joint seed production deal with Chinese partners and is working on the relaxation of China’s rice quarantine protocol as the group joins the business delegation accompanying President Duterte in his state visit to China next week.

SL Agritech chair Henry Lim Bon Liong told the Inquirer that “friends” from China were offering a lot of business opportunities in agriculture, power and trade.

Lim said his company had already exported banana to Dalian, China previously.  He is hoping to expand trading opportunities to include pineapples.

He said SL Agritech’s premium “Dona Maria” rice had also found a market in China.  However, because of a quarantine protocol in rice between the Philippines and China, he said it had been difficult to establish the presence of this brand.  “We hope we can have the rice protocol expedited in this trip,” he said.

SL Agritech does not grapple with similar quarantine restrictions in other export destinations.  He said this might have been an offshoot of the diplomatic chill between China and the Philippines in previous years.  The tension intensified during the term of President Aquino, under whose term the Philippines sought an international arbitration on its territorial dispute with China. In July, the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal favored the Philippines’ sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea and ruled that China’s “nine-dash line” claim was invalid.

Lim said he was hoping that China would relax its quarantine protocol on Philippine rice exports now that President Duterte was rekindling the bilateral relationship.

“I believe Dona Maria premium rice, especially our brown rice, which is one of the best tasting in the world, has a big market in China based on the trade show in Nanning a few years ago when 1,300 kilograms of rice were sold in three hours’ time,” Lim said.

The businessman said there were many parties in China willing to act as dealers of Dona Maria rice.

“We may also sign a joint seed production agreement in China because of the big demand for our hybrid rice seed variety SL8H,” Lim said.  “We hope to sign it during the trip.”

Incorporated in 2000, SL Agritech is the only Philippine producer of hybrid rice seeds with fully integrated operations.  It operates two business segments: the production of hybrid rice seeds and premium rice. Majority of the business is derived from the hybrid rice seeds business after its first product SL8H was developed and distributed.

SL Agritech, which aims to debut on the Philippine stock exchange soon, is positioning itself as a leading proponent of hybrid rice farming technology and industry model for sound farming and management practices. It aspires to help the country achieve rice self-sufficiency and improve livelihood of local farmers.

Founded by the Lim family, SL Agritech is affiliated with the Sterling Paper Enterprise, a leading local manufacturer and distributor of paper products with a 70-year track record.