Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Growers told to invest in Pangasius farming
By Joy Romares-Sevilla
A TOP executive of an agri-business company in Mindanao Monday said they are developing areas in Davao City for the propagation of Pangasius, one of the fastest growing industries in neighboring Asian countries today, especially in Vietnam.
Elvin Millan, Vitarich-Mindanao marketing associate in Mindanao, said in Monday's edition of the Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Cafe Rysus at SM City Davao, that they are encouraging farmers to engage in Pangasius farming since it has a lot of potentials, not only locally, but also internationally.
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"We are still developing areas in Davao City such as in Calinan for Pangasius propagation. As soon as we can establish areas in Davao City, we also target to develop areas in Visayas," Millan said, adding that Vitarich has already 20 growers of Pangasius based in Marilao, Bulacan.
He said the company buys the produce of Pangasius growers in Marilao, which they processed into fillets.
"If we will have a stable production in Mindanao, the company plans to tie up with a processing plant here. We also plan to put up a hatchery here just like in Marilao," Millan said.
The Pangasius project of the company, Millan said, started two years ago after Pangasius production in Vietnam dropped, thus creating a big demand in the international market.
"We thought of a massive propagation of this fish because it has a big potential. Within six months, it can already be harvested, from one to 1.2 kilos per piece," he said, adding that as of today, Philippines is just an importer of the fish species.
Meanwhile, Ednar Carlos Dayanghirang, executive director of 0the Mindanao Business Council (MinBC), said that should a person invest in Pangasius farming, he or she will be able to earn a minimum net income of P500,000 within six months.
"Vitarich is the market. The company will be the one to buy the grower's produce," Dayanghiang said.
Dayanghirang said that to explore the potentials of Pangasius farming, it is included in the focus of the two-day staging of the Mindanao Investment Conference (Min-Icon) on November 25-26 at the Marco Polo Davao.
"Pangasius has a worldwide demand, the industry can give a lot of potentials to our growers if it will just be explored," Dayanghirang said, adding that aside from Pangasius, the Min-Icon will also focus on other industries, which are identified to bring investment opportunities in Mindanao. These industries include seaweeds, coffee, rubber, banana, honeybee production, and others.
Millan said Vitarich is offering three options for interested growers.
These options are contract growing, where the company will provide the fingerlings, the feeds, and the technical support, and all the produce of the grower will be bought by the company; the contract to buy, where the company will still provide the fingerlings, feeds, and the technical support, but will have an agreement with the buyer whether the latter will sell 60 percent or 40 percent of their produce to the company; and the commercial growing option.
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cebu. For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (November 11, 2008 issue)
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