Mensch FilAm Corp. targets 50% growth as export markets expand

By Edg Adrian A. Eva, Reporter

MENSCH FILAM CORP. is targeting 50% growth this year on rising exports of Philippine mangoes, pineapples and other agricultural products, as it taps markets in the Middle East and Canada and prepares to enter Europe.

“We target at least 50% growth,” Racquel S. Simon, president and chief executive officer at Mensch, told BusinessWorld in an interview on the sidelines of a Department of Trade and Industry export event last week.

Ms. Simon said the growth target would be driven mainly by markets secured this year, including Dubai, Riyadh, Doha, Vancouver and Toronto.

The company is also negotiating with prospective clients in Brussels, Belgium, and aims to begin exports to Europe before the end of the year.

“We aim to begin exporting to Europe before the end of the year, and we are already exchanging e-mails with prospective clients and finalizing some details,” Ms. Simon said.

Mensch also expects to resume exports to the US, which Ms. Simon described as a major market.

The expansion comes as the Philippines’ agricultural trade deficit widened to $1.25 billion in September, up 24.8% from a year earlier and the highest since March, Philippine Statistics Authority data showed.

Mensch, which began exporting agricultural products in 2005, was established in Davao in 2010. Its main export products include fresh mangoes, pineapples, cabbage and bananas. It also supplies local supermarkets, including S&R branches nationwide.

The company exports to at least 50 countries, with a strong presence in Asia and the Middle East, Ms. Simon said.

Mensch gets mangoes from farms across the country, including Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte, which have a combined 17,000 trees; Isabela, with 12,000 trees; and Pangasinan, with 8,000 trees. It also buys mangoes from Guimaras and Iloilo.

The nationwide sourcing network lets the company maintain a year-round supply of Philippine carabao mangoes through production scheduling, Ms. Simon said.

High logistics costs, particularly airfreight for fresh produce shipped to Europe and Canada, remain a major challenge, Ms. Simon said. Limited vessel availability and long shipping times to Middle Eastern markets also constrain the business, she added.

Mensch has yet to feel the effects of the prevailing strong El Niño but expects possible supply challenges in the coming months, she said.

Initial assessments of tree flowering indicate that mango production could increase. Harvests are expected to continue until January, while contracted farms in Isabela and Pangasinan are targeting production until May.

Ms. Simon said mangoes generally fare better in hot weather than during prolonged rainy periods.

Mensch plans to develop more processed products in 2027, including bottled and frozen mangoes, frozen durian, pineapple and mangosteen.

The shift would allow the company to ship more products by sea rather than rely on costly airfreight, particularly for distant markets, Ms. Simon said.

“So that’s our direction for 2027, to develop more processed products,” she said.

The company also aims to begin operating in more of the export markets it has secured. About 80% of those markets have yet to begin operations, Ms. Simon said.