Monday, February 20, 2006
Firm venture cashes on bangus production
ALABEL, Sarangani -- Milkfish or bangus, one of the well-loved fishes of Filipinos, produced in this bucolic coastal community has gone a long, long way across the globe.
In countries where there are "Pinoys," such as the US, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Micronesia, the bangus of Alsons Aquaculture Corp. would surely be present.
Thanks to the "real Bangus King," Alejandro "Alex" Alcantara, Alsons' executive vice president, the driving force behind the company's resounding successful venture.
Marketed under the brand name Sarangani Bay, Alsons processed fresh frozen deboned bangus, fresh frozen marinated deboned bangus, frozen smoked deboned bangus, and the all-time Filipino favorite called "Relleno."
"Named after the marine sanctuary it calls home, Sarangani Bay has built a reputation for growing and processing premium aquamarine products," Alcantara beamed.
In 2004, Alsons was honored with the country's most prestigious award for exporters, the Golden Shell Award for Manufacturing, Marketing and Design Excellence.
Alcantara said the firm's stringent 3-stage checking system during the deboning process ensures that their fish products are 99 percent bone-free.
For trivia, a typical bangus has between 265 to 300 bones. It is a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which is good for the heart.
Health experts recommend eating fatty fish at least twice a week. Fish is a good source of protein and do not have the high saturated fat that fatty meat products have.
Alsons blazed the export market for bangus, scientifically named Chanos chanos, through its sprawling 300-hectare fishponds sitting in the vast Alcantara estate that measures more or less 1,000 hectares.
A tourism attraction of sorts in the locality, the bangus ponds came in two sizes. The four-hectare fishpond could produce 35 tons to 40 tons and the two-hectare fishpond could yield 12 tons to 15 tons.
The volume could be more than enough to kill the persons accidentally buried behind them. But of course, this hasn't happened yet.
Meishach Ruf Morallas, Alsons marketing supervisor, said their years in the industry enable them to program the bangus production well that supplying the market, domestic and international, is hardly a problem.
"Per week, we can harvest 80 tons to 90 tons of bangus in different sizes," he noted, adding their daily average, from Sunday to Friday, hits at least 15 tons.
Efforts are going on to expand the fishpond areas by about 70 hectares more to meet the growing demand locally and internationally, he disclosed.
Alcantara said the present plant operations are designed to process 4,000 metric tons annually and that product supply is certain.
Laurente Montilla, Alsons processing plant manager, said the development of further fishpond areas is tailored to the ongoing expansion works designed by the processing department.
"We are expanding our plant to handle three tons more from our present capacity," said Montilla.
Of the daily fish harvest of 15 tons, the plant presently processes 10 tons for distribution to the market. The difference of five tons, which are not qualified for processing but still of good quality, are the ones sold in the wet markets.
Selected wholesale buyers purchased the five-ton difference from the company. In most cases, these fishes have few missing scales.
As to the processed products for exports, Montilla said, most consumers are still Filipinos but that a significant number of foreigners are also beginning to like the bangus.
"We follow where our fellow Filipinos go. They are still our biggest market. This way, we make them feel like they are still in the Philippines because they can easily buy bangus products," he said.
Montilla said the Philippines' closest competitor in bangus production is Taiwan, although the latter does not process the fish but sold it fresh.
Alsons has its own hatcheries so that bangus fingerlings pose no problem to the general operation of the firm. It supplies an estimated 20 percent of the country's bangus fry requirements.
Every 28 days, Montilla said, they ship six to eight refrigerated vans of processed bangus products outside of the country. A 40-footer van contains 20 tons.
Bangus produced by Alsons are grown in brackish water, meaning farmed in a careful mix of fresh and saltwater to prevent them from developing the unpleasant muddy flavor and odor brought by certain varieties of algae that thrive in fresh water environments.
Saltwater is pumped inland from the sea of Sarangani Bay and passes through a concrete drainage system until it reaches a facility where fresh water from a river system also ends up.
When the desired mixture is reached, the water is then channeled to the ponds.
Morallas said the salinity, or the level of saltiness, of the fishpond water is strictly monitored on a daily basis.
"If the level of salinity is not within the standard, it will affect the quality of the fish," he added.
To add value to the ponds and maximize their potential, tiger prawns are also grown along with the bangus, in a system called aqua polyculture.
Morallas pointed out that prawns help bangus production in that the former eats up leech population that would sometimes appear in the ponds.
In one production cycle with the bangus, he said, as much as 500 kilos of tiger prawns could be taken out, which are then sold to other firms in nearby General Santos City for domestic as well as international distribution.
Actually, before Alsons went into bangus production, the area was a prawn farm the company ventured with Dole Philippines Inc., Morallas said.
Alsons established the aquaculture operations in 1988, its processing plant in 1994, its bangus nursery and hatchery in 1996, and its export operations in 1998.
The processed bangus that Alsons produce are contained in vacuum-packed plastic sheets. It undergoes blast freezing to lock in the fresh taste and ensures there is no oxygen or water left in the pack where bacteria could breed.
"Shelf life of our fresh frozen products is one year," said Montilla.
The firm also produced "bangus in oil" kept in 312 grams and 215 grams bottles.
This is produced using an old Spanish recipe perfected through generations by an aristocratic Basque family and could last for two years.
The firm also produces fresh whole pompano, or the Yellow Wax Pomfret, and fresh frozen whole sea brass, also known as Australian Baramundi in a sea farm also within Sarangani province.
With at least 800 workers, Alsons is perhaps the largest employer in Sarangani province. Its processing plant received the IS0 9001:2002 Quality Management Standard Certification.
The firm also meets international food processing standards with its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Program certification. (RBS)
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(February 20, 2006 issue)
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