Alliance Select eyes bigger UK market share
Alliance Select, the listed food company, targets to increase its market share in the United Kingdom ( UK) alongside its initiatives to expand market presence in the European Union (EU).
The GSP + status granted to the Philippines has made it possible for Alliance Select to significantly expand its market in the EU. The GSP + privilege allows zero percent duty trade of tuna products with the EU member states.
As a result, Alliance Select, a manufacturer of tuna products, is set to attract more clientele because of the competitive price it is now able to offer.
Specifically, the company aims to bring more of its products to the UK to take advantage of its unique market, said ASFI president Raymond See.
“The UK is one of the leading destinations of processed tuna in the EU and Alliance Select is well- positioned to meet that demand,” he said.
Among the tuna markets in the world, the EU is listed as top two while the UK is among the top five importing countries in the EU. In 2015, for instance, Philippine exports to the EU registered an increase of 27 percent valued at €743 million.
The UK itself is the fifth biggest export market of the Philippines. Around 29 percent of the seafood consumption supplied in the UK is imported, with the top two species consumed being salmon and tuna.
Alliance Select is optimistic on prospects for 2016 as improved inventory management and raw material sourcing is seen to improve its operations.
Last year, the company posted a yearend net loss of $8 million, which it attributed to the current unstable environment in the fishing industry as well as the challenges tackled by the company in 2015.
Furthermore, the net loss is significantly lower without one- off charges undertaken by the company as part of its objectives on achieving cost efficiencies, it said.
Revenues for 2015, meanwhile, amounted to approximately $ 68 million, with its canned tuna division contributing 56 percent of the total company revenue.
But the company assured that its new management under see has aggressively implemented cost efficiency initiatives last year to improve operations and maintain financial stability and would continue to implement measures to improve business this year.