THE first bean-to-bar producer of chocolate from the Philippines, Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates, expressed interest to export local chocolates to Europe.
On Thursday, the Department of Trade and Industry, through its Knowledge Management and Information Service, said that the company expressed interest to export locally made chocolates to European Union member states, as it is complying with the necessary requirements.
"The best chocolates are from Europe. And if my chocolates make it to the European market, it is already an endorsement of top quality," said Philo Chua, Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolate founder.
The company said that it is currently familiarizing itself with the EU's requirements in terms of chocolate, such as the percentage of cocoa.
"Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates has been increasing his knowledge about these requirements along the way," said Chua.
In addition, he is currently studying compliance on the EU Generalized System of Preference Plus (EU-GSP+).
Chua is also working with the Registered Exporter System (REX), a self-certification system wherein the origin of goods is declared by economic operators themselves by means of so-called statements about origin.
"We obtained the REX registration number so that my business and buyers could benefit from tariff-free incentives that come with trading under the EU's GSP+. It's much more convenient than sending a Certificate of Origin with every order," he said.
"Labeling of our products was a particular focus for the EU market because of environmental sustainability concerns. Our distributor helped us with the translation and checking of our compliance with labeling requirements," he added.
Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates now derives 20 percent of its annual business revenue from exports, including 5 percent from the EU.
The products are sold at coffee shops and specialty stores abroad. Domestically, they are available at duty-free and Philippine product shops.
