26 November 2004, New York, NY -  Philippine Consul General Cecilia Rebong on Monday, 22 November, visited a Philippine Business Mission of Processed Food Manufacturers to the U.S. at the Springhill Suites in Newark, New Jersey.  The Philippine Business Mission consisted of the following companies:  Branded Food & Ingredient Enterprises; Cebu Legacy Marketing Corporation; Cenmaco, Inc.; Fitrite Incorporated; Guaranfood Manufacturing; Mega Fishing Corporation; Pacific Isles Trading, Inc.; Oceanic Exports (Manila), Inc.; Reysons Exim International, Inc.; RFM Corporation; and the Right Crop, Inc.  The Philippine Business Mission was organized by the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry, through its affiliate agencies, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and Bureau of Export Trade Promotions (BETP).

Beaming at the site of several Philippine processed food manufacturers aggressively promoting their products in the multi-billion U.S. food market, Consul General Rebong said, “I am happy that our processed food manufacturers have embarked on this business mission.”  She added, “In this age of globalization, our Filipino businessmen should really be setting their sights on the overseas market especially in areas where there are large Filipino populations like the U.S.  This Business Mission shows that they have accomplished this objective.”  She also expressed confidence that the Mission would be successful as she noted that the participating Philippine companies are now using ingredients and manufacturing techniques to ensure product compliance with standards set by the US Food and Drug Administration.
 
Before New Jersey, the Philippine Business Mission traveled to the West Coast for one-on-one meetings with potential US distributors of their products which included canned sardines, natural dried mangoes, condiments made of favorite Philippine fruits and vegetables, rice sticks, wheat noodles and bottled bagoong and shrimp fry.  In the East Coast as well in the West, the Mission created a great deal of interest among visitors who were mostly existing importers and distributors of Asian processed food products. END