Philippine booth a hit in HK food expo

Ng and Hui

THE Philippine booth raked in higher sales in the recently- concluded five-day Hong Kong Food Expo held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.

Johnny Hui of A-Plus Consultant, the sole agent of Philippine products sold in the Philippine booth during the expo, told Hong Kong News that sales were likely to top $700,000, or a five-fold increase from $140,000 earnings in the 2015 Food Expo.

“This time, sales [are] very good compared to last year’s. [Sales are about] $700,000 and [growing]. We also had an export order to Korea for sea urchins, and banana chips,” Hui said.

“There is also a supermarket in Hong Kong, [which] ordered maybe one container of Philippine products – dried mango chips, dried coconut, banana chips, crab paste and sea urchin,” he added.

William Ng, a part-time staff at the Philippine booth, said Hong Kong people liked Philippine products because these were organic and had no chemicals.

“These products were handmade in the Philippines and they’re directly flown here to Hong Kong,” added Hui.

Hui said he printed out pamphlets of recipes for the crab paste and the sea urchin that the Hong Kong people could follow because buyers would always ask him how to cook the ingredients.

In December this year, he said, he is targeting to open two Filipino restaurants – one in Hainan Island, and the other one in Shenzhen both in the mainland.

“For five years I have been selling wholesale, but maybe next year I can open five shops in Hong Kong to directly sell crab paste, and sea urchin,” he said.

The first two locations of the “Philippine products only shops” are Kowloon Bay, and Wan Chai.

Hui said he had stayed in the Iriga City in Camarines Sur from 1976 to 1979 because his father used to own a business there.

“Every month I come back to Manila, but my Tagalog is no longer good,” he