Sunday, March 25, 2007 RP is 2nd in Asia, 4th in world tuna production
THE Philippines ranks second to Taiwan among Asian countries, and fourth in the world in tuna production, said Domingo Teng, president of the TSP Marine Industries during the launching Tuesday of "Talk Mindanao" at the Mindanao Economic Development Council (Medco) here.
He noted that in terms of value-adding to tuna production, Mindanao is the capital of the tuna-sardines industry in the Philippines.
He said of the eight fish canneries in the country, six are located in Mindanao with four in General Santos City and two in Zamboanga.
The Philippines' tuna production amounted to 500,000 tons in 2006, about 10 per cent of the world's total production.
The world catch was pegged at 4 million tons.
Teng also said half of the total tuna fish production of General Santos City went to the European Union (EU) market.
He said their produce are assured entry to the EU market after their product passed assessment by a European team that flew to General Santos City to analyze the quality of the fish and the facilities they used.
"Talk Mindanao" is a forum spearheaded by Medco aired in key cities of Mindanao namely Davao, Zamboanga, General Santos and produced twice monthly every other Tuesday.
