Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Biotechnology group gears for export mart
SOME of them have produced sensational products like virgin coconut oil and less known health and beauty concoctions that caught the imagination of the world.
As an industry, the biotechnology group has dared to plan that in two to five years biotechnology products and processes will be a major export industry in the Philippines.
This was the central point contained in the accomplishment report for the last two years submitted by the biotechnology cluster to the Export Development Council (EDC).
In the next three years, the biotech cluster said, its members are going to launch five product lines including health products into the export market and will support the long-term competitiveness and sustainability of Philippine biotechnology export products in the global market.
The industry has been classified into two sub-sectors: agri-biotechnology engaged in producing inputs to livestock and crop production, biotech processes, bio-fuel and bio-pesticides and the health and bio industry sub-sector.
Both sub-sectors have drawn their plans and programs to graduate to the export market as an industry.
The agri-biotech sub-sector has targeted to sell abroad bio-fertilizers, diagnostic kits, vaccines for livestock, feed additives, bio-fuels and tissue cultured abaca and papaya products.
The bio-industry and health group, on the other hand, has lined up the export of health products extracted from the legendary medicinal tree banaba, from papaya and lagundi.
Much of the planned quantum leap for the industry, the group pointed out, would depend on how fast its members could source funds to sustain research and development projects that lead to the mass production of plant-based products. (Philexport News and Features/Sunnex)
