Wednesday, November 05, 2008 Major supplier puts up consolidation center
A LEADING purveyor of fresh fruits and vegetables recently established a consolidation center in Davao City to ensure a steady supply of produce from Mindanao for major supermarkets in Metro Manila.
The new consolidation center of Agri Nurture Inc. (ANI) in the Sasa district of Davao will enable the company to meet the quality and volume requirements of its institutional buyers, including the SM Hypermart chain in Luzon, said Zavier Abella, ANI purchasing officer for fruits.
"This facility gives us a more direct link to growers in Mindanao," Abella said.
The fruits and vegetables are paid for upon delivery to the ANI consolidation center, and then shipped to the company's storage facility in Manila.
Abella said the consolidation center in Davao has already shipped lakatan banana from Kidapawan City and Shariff Kabunsuan, as well as solo papaya grown in Tupi, South Cotabato. ANI has also made trial shipments of assorted fruits such as rambutan, mangosteen, durian and mango.
Last month, the company signed an agreement with a grower of carabao variety mangoes, under which ANI will purchase a 50-hectare yield of mangoes for export. USAID's Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program helped link ANI with the Northern Cotabato-based exporter and other local farmers.
"Local and foreign buyers have a high regard for fruits from Mindanao," Abella said, adding that ANI ships containers of mangoes from southern Mindanao twice a week to Singapore.
ANI is considering establishing additional consolidation centers in key production areas across the region. (GEM/PIA)
