Buying a mango in the Philippines is almost like ordering at a cafe, there is such a wide variety to choose from. While most Pinoys can easily spot the difference between an Indian mango and a carabao mango, there are very few people who can actually tell you what kind of mango tree bore the fruit and in which town and province it came from with just a cursory glance.
Roberto "Bobby" C. Amores, president of Hi-Las Marketing Corporation, is one of those people and has made it his business to know everything about mangoes. Knowing which varieties bear the sweetest fruit and which are kept best while in transit had translated into realizing tidy profits regardless of the economic conditions in the country.
He started in the mango exporting business 29 years ago with a couple of friends during their graduating year at the University of the Philippines.
"What struck me and got me into the food business is its necessity, meaning there will always be a demand for food. I naturally gravitated towards agribusiness because of my love of farming and my fondness for the countryside," said Amores who also explained that since setting up his company, mangoes had been his first and only business.
During the first year of operating his fresh mango exporting business, Bobby and his friends made about a million pesos in gross sales at a time when even ten percent of that would have been enough to build a decent house in Metro Manila.
However, it soon dawned on him that running a business based entirely on the production and sale of mangoes would soon test his commitment and passion for the business. Dealing in fresh mangoes meant dealing with perishable commodities where spoilage or failure to pass international quality standards can lead to major losses. The friends who had started the business with him soon found their interest and commitment flagging after a few setbacks, eventually leaving Bobby alone to keep the business running.
Rather than dwelling on his losses, he stuck with the business and in the succeeding years saw gross annual sales improving by 30 million pesos. Today, his persistence and passion have clearly paid off as Hi-Las rakes in over
R200 million in gross annual sales.
"More than anything else, it is our commitment to delivering quality that has allowed us to endure all manner of setbacks whether it is political, economic, or even natural. This has led us at Hi-Las to equate quality with survival," said Bobby. He explained that it was his company’s reputation for delivering the highest quality of fresh and processed fruits that enabled him to make a comeback after every setback. He explained that because of his good standing among his buyers in the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, he was able to weather the pitfalls of the fruit export industry and recoup his losses.
At present, Amores as well as other mango exporters are hyped about emerging opportunities for greater growth. At present, the Philippines can only address 2.5 percent of the global demand because of the lack of exportable supply. Small as it may seem, the 2.5 percent serviced by Philippine mango exporters represents export earnings of around
R15 billion a year.
It is because of this that Bobby, apart from running his business, has in countless ways involved himself in promoting the interest of both fruit exporters and farmers. Beyond advocating modern farm practices and compliance with international food standards, he is currently lending a hand in giving food manufacturers and exporters a venue for exposure to international buyers.
As the current president of the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, (Philfoodex), Bobby Amores has set about to making the upconming 5th Philippine Food Expo 2006 stand out from the first four.
Next year, Philfoodex will bring together makers of the best in Philippine food products with over 270 food entrepreneurs and industry-partners from all over the country, and will highlight the First Mango Festival, a special exhibit featuring the highly popular Philippine mango, along with its different processed products.
The Philippine Food Expo is scheduled on January 26 to 29 at the SM Megatrade Halls. Together with the First Mango Festival, it will gather food enthusiasts from all over the country as it promises to showcase our "Best Food Forward." For information about the First Mango Festival and/or the 5th Philippine Food Expo, call tel. 687-0654 or 637-7434, or email info@philfoodex.org and cut@pacific.net.ph.
