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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
May 11, 2026 | 2:10pm
MANILA, Philippines — Paraguay is seeking entry into the Philippine grain market, President Santiago Peña Palacios said on Monday, May 11, at Malacañang, building on a meat trade opened with Manila last August.
Speaking after bilateral talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Peña named maize, oilseeds, and agro-industrial products as the next potential exports that Paraguay is targeting for the Philippines.
"We see significant opportunities to broaden our export offering in grain, maize, oilseeds and agro-industrial products, in response to Philippine demand for food security," Peña said.
Peña's is the first presidential visit between the two countries since they established diplomatic ties in December 1962.
Paraguay began exporting meat to the Philippines after Manila cleared the trade in August 2025. A first 27-tonne container of boneless poultry thighs landed in November, followed by bone-in beef.
"This milestone demonstrates the capacity of our productive sector to access one of Asia's most demanding and dynamic markets, with more than 100 million consumers," the president of Paraguay said.
"We aspire for this trade flow to expand and diversify in a sustained manner, consolidating Paraguay as a reliable supplier of animal protein in Southeast Asia," he added.
If realized, the trade would put Paraguay in competition with Argentina and Brazil, currently among the largest non-ASEAN suppliers of corn to the Philippines.
The Philippines is forecast to import 1.75 million tonnes of corn in the 2025-26 market year, a 7.4 percent rise on the previous year, according to estimates by the United States Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service.
Marcos, in turn, identified tuna, sardines and milkfish as Philippine fish products he wanted to see exported to Paraguay, and said the trade would benefit local producers.
On Monday, both governments also signed a visa waiver allowing holders of ordinary passports to enter each other's countries without a visa, and a memorandum on diplomatic training between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Paraguay's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry has also signed a separate agreement with REDIEX, Paraguay's investment and export agency, to begin matching companies on both sides.
ASEAN treaty bid and bloc-to-bloc track
Peña notified the Philippines, as ASEAN chair, of Paraguay's intention to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the bloc's 1976 peace pact.
The treaty has 55 parties, including China, the United States, the European Union and several Latin American states. Accession is processed through the bloc's senior officials' and foreign ministers' meetings.
The two leaders said they would also explore linking Mercosur — the South American customs union Paraguay currently chairs — with ASEAN, which the Philippines chairs through the end of 2026.
From Taipei
Peña arrived in Manila on Sunday from Taipei, where he had spent four days.
Unlike the Philippines, Paraguay recognizes Taiwan over China, one of only 12 countries to do so. This makes Paraguay the only diplomatic ally of Taipei in South America.
The Philippines does not have a resident embassy in Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. Its embassy in Buenos Aires covers Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay.
Peña also invited Marcos to visit his country.
"I deeply appreciate your welcoming and express the gratitude that we all felt, and we are looking forward to respond to this in the near future with a possible visit of yourself and your delegation," the Paraguay president said.
