Davao City-based coconut products gained strong market reception in China, with skincare and wellness brand BioSkin selling out its products on the first day of the China-ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO) 2026 in Nanning, China.
Department of Trade and Industry 11 (DTI l11) Director Romeo Castañaga said in an interview that the Philippines’ participation as the country of honor at this year’s CAEXPO provided Filipino micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with an expanded platform to enter the Chinese market. P
“So, we joined the CAEXPO, the China-ASEAN Expo 2026 where the Philippines is the country of honor. We sent 77-strong exhibitors to CAEXPO for the first time, parang marami, because last year mga 10, mga ganyan lang,” Castañaga said.
He said Davao Region was represented by enterprises supported through DTI programs, including the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP).
Castañaga said BioSkin stood out among the exhibitors, selling out its products on the first day of the seven-day expo.
“Day 1, Bioskin is, ubos,” he said.
He attributed the strong reception to BioSkin’s positioning as an organic and natural coconut-based product, as well as growing interest among younger Chinese consumers in skincare, health and wellness products.
“It’s different. So, in other products, we have food, we have non-food. But Bioskin is organic, natural, and coming from coconut, so… And then ‘yung Chinese, I observed the Chinese buyers, they are the younger generation,” Castañaga said.
He said word-of-mouth also helped drive demand for the product.
“The younger generation, and then siguro in the morning, may nakabili. Then, ‘saan ka bumili niyan?’ So, it created a bandwagon. So, it’s just selling like hotcakes,” he said.
He said other Philippine exhibitors also sold their products by the end of the expo while securing business-to-business (B2B) engagements with potential buyers in Nanning.
“Towards the end of the expo, all other exhibitors that we have, ubos din ‘yung kanilang I mean products, but they have also engaged B2B to continue our presence, particularly in that city of Nanning,” Castañaga said.
He added that beyond immediate sales, DTI is also seeking to sustain the market exposure of Philippine MSMEs through the China-ASEAN Mercantile Center (CAMEX), where products and samples can be displayed free of charge for two years.
“All products na unsold or even products that we have, samples displayed at CAMEX. That’s another facility. ‘Yung CAMEX is China-ASEAN Mercantile Center where it will be displayed for the next 2 years for free. So, we expect orders and inquiries coming from that facility,” he said.
Castañaga, however, said MSMEs must strengthen their capacity to meet international demand.
“I think we have to upgrade the product because we see may mga ano pa rin, may mga, in terms of quality, in terms of capacity to produce the volume, kulang pa rin,” he said.
He said market access is increasingly being addressed through DTI trade fairs and market-linking activities.
“So perhaps market is not, not so much the problem. In fact, since DTI is in charge of marketing, so we just mount trade fair to trade fair to trade fair, one after another. So every fair that we have, we really exceed our target in terms of sales,” Castañaga said.
He urged MSMEs to continue improving quality, innovating and tracking market trends, while capable enterprises should consider scaling up.
“But assessing the capacity of the MSMEs, they have to uh further improve their quality, innovate some more, look at the market and the trends,” he said.
