A P300 million shrimp processing facility in Toledo City is set to employ at least 300 workers at full capacity, as Gideon De Oro Seafood Corp. ramps up operations to revive Philippine shrimp exports and curb the country’s reliance on imported products.
Constantine Tanchan, president of Gideon De Oro Seafood Corp., said the plant in Barangay Talavera is designed to stabilize farm-gate prices and enable local producers to compete internationally after decades of industry decline.
“We import about 5,000 tons of shrimp every year. Our facility can help fill that gap so we don’t have to import,” he said.
Gideon De Oro Seafood Corp. is the processing division of Aquatic Phoenix Aquaculture Group, which has operated five farms located in Cebu and Negros for more than 30 years.
The Toledo plant will initially run on one shift capable of processing 200 tons (200,000 kilograms) per month. Tanchan said the group is training workers gradually, with priority hiring for Toledo residents, especially housewives seeking additional household income.
The facility includes a 900-metric-ton cold storage unit that allows the company to stockpile shrimp during months when farm prices fall below production cost, typically from late May to October. Tanchan said the storage strategy will help stabilize local prices and protect farmers’ margins.
The company also installed a one-megawatt solar system to lower costs and offset the Philippines’ electricity rates, which Tanchan said are more than twice those in Vietnam and Thailand.
Re-enter export market
Tanchan said the company also aims to secure export accreditations early next year, targeting shipments to Japan, South Korea and the United States.
“With this modern plant, we are bridging that gap and bringing world-class standards back to the local industry. This allows us to reenter the export market, strengthen import substitution and compete confidently on a global scale,” he said.
Tanchan said that the Philippines was once the world’s third-largest prawn exporter in the late 1980s and early 1990s before disease outbreaks and weak government support crippled the industry.
“Many say we cannot compete with foreign producers, but I believe we can. We just have to adapt and innovate,” he said.
Shrimp industry roadmap
According to the Department of Agriculture’s 2021–2040 Shrimp Industry Roadmap, the Philippines ranks among the world’s top 10 shrimp producers and is the fourth-largest in Southeast Asia. About 10 percent of local output is exported, while 90 percent is consumed domestically.
Shrimp accounts for roughly 80 percent of the country’s aquaculture sector. Of national production, around 60 percent consists of Giant Black Tiger Shrimp (sugpo) and 30 percent of Pacific White Shrimp (suati), while freshwater prawns contribute less than one percent.
The roadmap outlines long-term targets, including annual production increases of at least 5,000 metric tons (MT) for Black Tiger Shrimp and 20,000 MT for White Shrimp, along with export volume growth of 20 to 25 percent per year. / KOC