Philippines Ripe for Agri Investments

The Philippine Department of Agriculture is promoting investment from South Korea and Thailand in hopes of financing large projects to meet demand for food and biofuel. The Philippines is already a major player in the export of several items, but the demand is there for more. In addition to the crops themselves, there are many opportunities related to production and processing.

During PGMA’s recent visit to Samal Island, the area was pushed as ideal for such investments possibilities. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap met with the Charoen Pokphand Group of Thailand, headed by its chairman and CEO Dhanin Chearavanont, in Samal Island during President Arroyo’s visit.

Probably not a surprise to those that have had these local crops the Philippines ranks very high in export, due to the high quality of the product.

Philippine rankings:

• ranked second to Ecuador (4 million MT) in terms of banana export volume at 2.3 million MT.
• ranks seventh among the world’s mango producing countries.
• ranks third in pineapple production, next to Brazil and Thailand, accounting for 10 percent of the world’s supply.
• is the world’s number one supplier of coconut oil (crude and refined), accounting for about 50 percent of the world trade.

There are many possibilities for investment beyond the crops themselves. Some of them are:

• For banana investment opportunities include the expansion of production areas; processing banana into flour, cereals and vinegar; banana production and processing into Inulin; packaging equipment; logistics; research and development; and farm-to-market roads (FMRs).
• Mango can be processed into a number of products such as juice, puree, dried fruit and concentrates, offers opportunities in developing irradiation facilities, extended hot water- treatment tanks, freeze-dry facilities, quick frozen-banana products and processing plants.
• Pineapples, mostly grown in Mindanao, can processed into juice, jellies and jams, dried fruit, pineapple vinegar and fruit cocktail. The expensive piña or pineapple fiber can be used to make the Barong Tagalog—the country’s national dress.
• Coconut investment opportunities include expansion of production areas, research and development, the coconut industry information network and the integrated coconut processing and marketing complex, where the return on investment is calculated at a whopping 130 percent in just six months. Products and byproducts of coconut are virgin-coconut oil, coco coir, coco sugar and coco-methyl ester—a biofuel.

• Investors, Yap said, can cash in on this high demand for biofuel feedstock by developing areas for feedstock plantations and building and operating refineries and distilleries for bioethanol production. The Biofuels Law, he noted, likewise offers investors a number of incentives such as tax holidays and exemptions if they invest in this sector.

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Photo credit: flickr/Keith Bacongco