Saturday, February 23, 2008 Tuna value-added products fetch P1.6B in sales
THE tuna value-added products sector recorded foreign and domestic earnings of around P1.6 billion in 2007.
Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said the abundance of raw tuna materials and the ingenuity of entrepreneurs have propelled the value-added sector into greater heights over the last four years.
"Last year, we have 85 tuna value-added processors, up 37 percent from 62 the previous year. Majority of them are already accredited by the [local] Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)," he said.
Of the 85 tuna value-added processors, 19 were exporters who sold $35 million (P1.4 billion at P40 to a dollar) of various products to markets in the United States, Japan, Hongkong and other countries, Acharon said.
He added that domestic sales last year reached P183.3 million for products like tocino, chorizo, embotido, patties, spring roll and many others.
In all, there are now 19 variants of tuna value-added products sold in domestic and foreign markets, Acharon said.
Tuna value-added products used to be in the shadows of canned tuna products, the major sector in the local tuna industry. Six of the nation's eight tuna canneries are based in this city dubbed the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines."
The tuna industry and its allied industries have generated employment for at least 61,000 individuals within the locality, Acharon said.
Five of the producers in the tuna value-added business have applied for trademark at the Intellectual Property Rights Office of the Trade department, said Acharon.
Based on the records of the Trade department office here, the tuna-value added industry generated at least $27.6 million in export sales and P45.8 million domestic sales in 2006.
Nelly Nita Dillera, DTI-Central Mindanao business development division chief, said tuna value-added products have become a multi-million industry, as the international market prefers to patronize these healthy products.
"The fresh [and canned] tuna products that boosted the economy of General Santos have metamorphosed into a vibrant tuna value-added business," she said.
Dillera added that tuna value-added products have been greatly enhanced by the involvement of major tuna industry players such as the large, small and medium purse seiners, handline fishing operators, tuna canneries and fresh and frozen tuna processors.
Dillera also attributed the growth of tuna add-on products to the presence of different facilities found in the locality essential for the industry's development. (BSS)
