Pili nuts can now enter EU

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The European Commission Implementing Regulation 2023/267 signed on February 8 authorizes the inclusion of dried pili nuts in the EU list of novel foods that may be marketed in the EU states after the commodity passed food safety and labelling requirements. Image from Department of Agriculture.
  • Dried Philippine pili nuts will have their place from now on in food shops in 27 member-states of the European Union
  • The European Commission Implementing Regulation (EUIR) 2023/267 signed on February 8 authorizes the inclusion of dried pili in the list of novel foods that may be sold on the market after it passed the EU’s food safety and labelling requirements
  • The Department of Agriculture said the EU market opening will benefit local pili processors and exporters, as well as thousands of pili farmers, as this opportunity will enable them to gain more income from higher-value commodities such as pili

Dried pili nuts from the Philippines can now enter the 27 member-states of the European Union (EU).

This, after the issuance of the European Commission Implementing Regulation (EUIR) 2023/267 signed on February 8 that authorizes the inclusion of dried pili nuts in the EU list of novel foods that may be marketed in the EU states after the commodity passed food safety and labelling requirements.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) welcomed the EU’s opening of its market to the country’s pili industry.

Exportation of pili nut, considered a novel food or those that have not been significantly used for human consumption in the EU before May 1997, has been temporarily stopped following new EU rules for novel foods in 2015.

DA said the EU market opening will benefit local pili processors and exporters, as well as thousands of pili farmers, as this opportunity enables them to gain more income from higher-value commodities such as pili.

In line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to DA to diversify exports and expand markets for local agricultural products, the agency is promoting farm clustering and consolidation as well as production upscaling to ensure high quality and volume of products with export potential.

The Bicol Region is the country’s top pili producer with about 90% or 1,796.38 hectares of pili production area and 84% or 4,932.60 metric tons of the total volume of production, according to Philippine Statistics Authority data in 2021.

The DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry’s High-value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), and the DA-Bicol Regional Field Office are actively involved in developing the pili industry.

DA’s attached agencies provide inputs, establish facilities for production, post-harvest, processing, and marketing, and conduct research for development and capacity building activities, including the adoption of good agricultural practices and food safety standards, among other things.

They also help interested producers and exporters obtain accreditation, develop packing houses, develop markets and establish market connections.

The DA-AMAS, in particular, helped various pili stakeholders promote their products by participating in local and international trade fairs.

The major export markets for Philippine pili include the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and Canada.

Diversifying exports is one strategy being utilized for the Philippine economy to become more resilient against adverse global shocks.

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