VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #2329/01 3130006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 090006Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5689
RUEHRC/USDA WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS MANILA 002329 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS AND EB/TRA 
USDA FOR SECRETARY VILSACK 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PREL RP
SUBJECT: SECRETARY VILSACK LEADS U.S. AGRIBUSINESS TRADE AND 
INVESTMENT MISSION TO THE PHILIPPINES 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack led a 
U.S. Trade and Investment Mission (TIM) to the Philippines October 
24 - 27, 2009.  The Secretary's visit, less than one month after the 
Philippines was hit by two major storms, highlighted the USG's 
continuing support of a long-standing ally during a time of need. 
The Secretary announced the donation of 7,000 metric tons of rice 
and 680 metric tons of powdered milk from USDA's Food for Progress 
program to help feed the hundreds of thousands still affected by 
flooding and landslides caused by the storms. The Secretary also 
discussed food security and climate change with President 
Macapagal-Arroyo, visited the International Rice Research Institute, 
a flour mill that uses U.S. wheat, and a school that is benefiting 
from U.S. food aid donations.  The TIM, which facilitated meetings 
between 15 U.S. companies and approximately 100 agribusinesses from 
the Philippines, resulted in several solid business deals.    End 
summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited the 
Philippines October 24-27 accompanied by a Trade and Investment 
Mission (TIM) of more than 15 representatives from U.S. 
agribusinesses and business associations seeking to establish or 
expand commercial links with Philippine companies.  Approximately 
100 companies from the Philippines also took part in the TIM, which 
continued on for two days after the Secretary's departure.  This was 
the first TIM of its kind to the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) region.  Several U.S. and Philippine companies 
reported successful business transactions while others developed 
solid leads to take advantage of increasing market opportunities. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Secretary Vilsack's visit came less than a month after two 
storms struck Metro Manila and northern Luzon island, causing nearly 
1,000 deaths, 700,000 persons displaced from their homes, and 
hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to households and crops. 
He arrived at a time when Philippine government resources were 
strained by the response to the disasters, and he was able to add to 
the goodwill and gratitude created by the USG's energetic response 
to these storms. 
 
Secretary Sees 30 Years of USG-GRP Cooperation at IRRI 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) At the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), an 
institution founded by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations in 1960, 
Secretary Vilsack inspected the world's most comprehensive rice 
genebank, toured high-technology genetic laboratories and learned 
about ground-breaking rice research being funded by the Bill and 
Melinda Gates Foundation.  After symbolically planting a new 
'climate-change ready' rice plant developed at the institute, the 
Secretary thanked IRRI scientists for their vital contributions to 
rice productivity and food security, and lauded more than three 
decades of USG support of and cooperation with IRRI. 
 
¶5. (SBU) At the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, the Secretary 
laid a wreath in honor of the more than 17,000 dead and 36,000 
missing soldiers, sailors and marines who are commemorated there. 
At the Memorial, he saw the name of his great uncle, a Congressional 
Medal of Honor winner, who died at sea during the Naval Battle of 
Guadalcanal. 
 
USDA-Sponsored Dinner Meeting and Cooperator Reception 
 
¶6. (SBU) The United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA)-sponsored dinner meeting was attended by influential Filipino 
businesspeople including James Go, Chairman, Universal Robina 
Corporation; Teresita Sy-Coson, Chairman, Banco de Oro Unibank; 
George W. Drysdale, Chairman-Emeritus, Marsman-Drysdale Group of 
Companies; Jose A. Concepcion III, President & CEO, RFM Corporation; 
Francisco Alejo III, President, San Miguel PureFoods Co.; and David 
Co, EVP & General Manager, Foremost Farms.  Secretary Vilsack 
thanked the attendees for their participation and outlined a variety 
of USDA programs, both domestic and international.  The topics of 
discussion included food price increases due to crop damages caused 
by recent typhoons in the Philippines, surplus milk production by 
U.S. dairy farmers, school feeding programs both in the United 
States and the Philippines, the McGovern & Dole program, development 
of biotechnology in agriculture, and farmers loan/credit programs. 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Secretary also met 11 Cooperator representatives, and 
thanked them for their commitment and support for U.S. agriculture 
exports and the unique partnership USDA has with Cooperators. 
 
Meeting With Philippine Secretary of Agriculture Arthur Yap 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Over breakfast on October 26th, Secretary Yap expressed 
strong support for biotechnology, noting that that bio-engineered 
 
crops will be essential in enabling the Philippines to continue to 
feed its population, which is growing at about 2% annually. He 
expressed interest in visiting USDA's Agricultural Research Service 
laboratory in Hawaii to discuss research on saline-tolerant plants. 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) Secretary Yap expressed concern about climate change, 
showing a sophisticated understanding of the policy instruments that 
are now being considered internationally to mitigate climate change 
and how they might affect agriculture.  He asked if USDA could help 
provide satellite imagery to enable the Philippines to monitor crop 
production and watersheds and to identify areas vulnerable to 
landslides.  He was advised that while USDA has the technical 
capacity to provide such assistance, outside resources would be 
necessary to support the work.  (NOTE: USDA is now developing a 
draft proposal that might be used to solicit such funding.) 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Secretary Yap also expressed concern about global rice 
supplies in light of recent weather conditions in the Philippines, 
India, and China.  He noted that high food prices can be 
destabilizing and suggested that an international food reserve might 
be of help to stabilize prices in the event of short supplies.  Yap 
was advised that reserve schemes do not fit well with U.S. market 
systems. 
 
Meeting with President Macapagal-Arroyo 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Secretary Vilsack expressed his sympathy to President 
Arroyo over the loss of life and property caused by tropical storm 
Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng, and said he was prepared to provide 7,000 
metric tons of rice and 680 metric tons of powdered milk under the 
USDA Food for Progress program.  This would be sufficient to feed 
approximately 438,000 people for 60 days, he added.  President 
Arroyo thanked him for the donation, and for all the USG assistance 
provided in response to the back-to-back natural disasters.  She 
then turned to climate change, explaining that the Philippines was 
deeply affected and how the issue dominated discussions at the ASEAN 
summit she had just attended in Thailand.  She expressed the hope 
that the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen would 
result in binding targets, and urged the U.S. to be a leader in 
achieving this result. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Secretary Vilsack underscored the USG's commitment to 
mitigate climate change, and noted that he is a member of a 
Cabinet-level group - the "Green Cabinet" - that meets on a monthly 
basis to discuss climate change and other environmental issues.  He 
then explained the Administration's commitment to improving food 
security, highlighting USDA's "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" 
program, and emphasized the need to increase productivity through 
research and applied science.  Both principals concluded by agreeing 
to build on the strong, trusting relationship between the 
Philippines and the United States. 
 
 
Flour Mill and School Visits 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) Secretary Vilsack toured a large, automated flour mill of 
the Universal Robina Corporation (URC), where he saw U.S. spring 
wheat being converted into flour for commercial and home use.  URC 
officials said they had been using U.S. wheat for decades, and they 
preferred it over all others because of its consistent quality and 
high protein content, which produces a higher-quality flour ideal 
for bread baking.  Secretary Vilsack then traveled to an inner-city 
school, Sagad Elementary, where he saw photos of the school's first 
floor inundated after the recent storms.  Together with the 
Ambassador and Secretary Yap, he distributed USDA-donated 
high-energy biscuits and rice to the children. 
 
¶14. (SBU) The Secretary's visit received widespread positive 
coverage by print and television media.  He gave an in-depth 
interview on a widely-viewed business news program, and his meeting 
with President Arroyo and announcement of the donation of food was 
covered extensively. 
 
Trade Mission Build Business Ties 
 
¶15. (U) The Philippine TIM was initiated as a means to further 
promote two-way trade in a developing country which has a population 
growth rate of 2% per year.  The Philippines is a staunch ally, and 
represents a gateway to Southeast Asia.  This TIM was USDA's first 
in Asia, signaling the strategic importance of this bilateral 
relationship.  Investment opportunities between the U.S. and 
Philippine businesses appear promising. 
 
¶16. (U) Briefings at the TIM were presented by high level U.S. and 
Philippine government officials, as well as private sector 
agribusiness representatives both in Manila and Davao City.  They 
were followed by one-on-one business-to-business meetings. 
 
¶17. (U) The USDA delegation and U.S. agribusiness also had the 
opportunity to tour a banana processing facility and an aquaculture 
farm while in Mindanao. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Comment: The Secretary's visit was a timely addition to 
the overall USG efforts to promote economic development and 
stability in the Philippines.  It also added to the goodwill 
engendered by the U.S. Government's rapid and effective response to 
the damage wrought by the twin storms.  The Secretary's donation of 
food at a critical time, and his engagement on key issues such as 
food security and climate change, underscored the USG's commitment 
to help the Philippines cope with the challenges of improving 
agricultural productivity, overcoming poverty and improving the 
lives of its citizens. 
 
Kenney