President of Philippines visits Sanitarium today

May 30, 2007

President of the Republic of the Philippines visits Sanitarium today to open discussions around trade opportunities

New Zealand and the Philippines enhanced their trade relationship today with a Memorandum of Understanding signed between leading New Zealand health food company Sanitarium and the Republic of the Philippines through the Department of Agriculture. This coincided with a lunchtime visit to Sanitarium’s Auckland Manufacturing site by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The memorandum paves the way for opportunities for the export of Sanitarium products to the Philippines and the reciprocal import of raw materials from the Philippines. This also allows for exploring ways Sanitarium can play a part in improving the health and wellbeing of the people of the Philippines through the provision of nutrition education.

Pierre van Heerden, General Manager of Sanitarium New Zealand, said they are looking forward to working in partnership with the Republic of Philippines and improving the health and wellbeing of the Philippine people.

“We are very honoured and excited to discuss partnering with the Republic of Philippines. This opportunity has come from an acknowledgement of Sanitarium’s genuine commitment to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities,” he said.

Sanitarium is one of New Zealand’s most trusted companies, founded over 100 years ago in Papanui, Christchurch, and manufactures and supplies a range of breakfast cereals, spreads and other health food products to many kiwi homes. It also offers a range of health and nutrition programmes and advice.

“This is an exciting development in the trade relationship between our two countries, representing increased opportunity for future trade and employment in New Zealand,” Mr van Heerden said.

Sanitarium is involved in other projects around the Pacific including the ‘Food For Life’ programme, which provides health foods and nutrition education to communities throughout the South Pacific, including the Cook Islands, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Kiribati. This programme has reached more than 400,000 Pacific Islanders since its inception in 2000.

Mrs Macapagal-Arroyo, accompanied by senior Philippine government officials, discussed the Memorandum of Understanding at the Sanitarium Auckland Manufacturing site with Sanitarium management representatives at 12.30pm today. This was followed by a tour of the factory and an opportunity for the President to meet and greet management and employee representatives, including some of the company’s 23 Filipino staff.

ENDS

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