MANILA, Philippines — The manufacturer of the locally ubiquitous “Boy Bawang” fried corn bits, more popularly known as “cornik,” is launching a wider range of products in the $12-billion halal market in the Middle East.

According to the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, KSK Food Products and five other local food makers will join in the two-week International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Roadshow and Mission to the Middle East on Nov. 5-18.

KSK export manager Millet Celones said Boy Bawang had been introduced in the Middle East in 2004 but joining the mission was meant to expand its presence in the Islamic market.

Celones said KSK would promote its complete line of Boy Bawang products, which now come in six flavors — garlic, hot garlic, “adobo,” barbecue, chili cheese and “lechon manok” — as well as launch its new Cowboy raisin-and-peanut cookies and Little Giant mini-egg cookies.

Earlier this year, small-scale “cornik” and “chichacorn” makers from Ilocos Norte province made further inroad for the product as they were able to tap markets in Cyprus, Australia and Saudi Arabia through the Department of Trade and Industry’s One Town One Product program.

Trade and Industry Undersecretary Carissa Evangelista, noting that “cornik” is a popular food snack among Filipinos, said the aim was to bring the product in countries where there are large Filipino communities.

The other companies joining the mission are Fisher Farms (processed milkfish); Florence Foods Corp. (bottled preserves, processed marine products, noodles, frozen fruits and vegetables, coconut products); Fortress Food Manufacturing Corp. (canned goat meat products, canned vegetable products); Q-Phil Products International (noodles, bottled sweet preserves), and RFM Corp. (rice-based mixes, hotcake mixes, “pancit” noodles, flavored drinks, ice cream, processed meat).

The mission is composed of manufacturers and exporters with halal-certified products and which have plans of expanding their export base in the lucrative and large collective markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council member countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions said.