At a food fair in New Delhi, Dry Tech Manufacturing, a vegetable exporter from the Philippines, showcased its Sheentaro brand products including dried moringa, lemongrass, taro leaves, and laing, a coconut-milk stew. The company aimed to see if its simple Filipino plant-based and ready-to-cook foods could appeal to India’s large vegetarian population, the largest in the world.

Dry Tech vice-president Corinne Anne Cordero told This Week in Asia that India’s hundreds of millions of vegetarians made it an ideal market. She explained, “That’s the main reason why we decided to sign up on short notice” for the Indusfood expo held in Greater Noida earlier this year. Sheentaro’s products had previously been well received at the China-Asean Expo in Nanning, prompting the company to seize the opportunity in India.

This move reflects a broader trend of Southeast Asian nations increasingly viewing India as an alternative market, arms supplier, and technology partner amid the ongoing regional influence competition between China and the US.

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