‘Unagi’ factories to boost PH exports to Japan

THE PROPOSED processing and cold storage facilities to be put up in the Philippines by a Japanese consortium were seen to shore up the country’s food exports to Japan by another 10 billion yen (about P4.5 billion).

The factories would largely be used to grow and process about 6 billion yen worth of freshwater eel, a famous delicacy in the East Asian country. The Japanese eel trade was estimated to be worth 30 to 40 billion yen, said Renato V. Diaz, president of the Philippine Aquamarine Resources Inc.

“We hope to set these up over the next two to three years and we target to operate as soon as possible because the demand is there … The plan is to export as much as we can. In the economic zones, the law requires 70 percent of production be exported, but that’s not a problem because there is demand. We already have initial orders,” Diaz said in a press briefing Friday.

The Japanese consortium, composed of big supermarket chains and distributors, is currently looking for local partners for the $500-million world-class processing and storage facilities in Gen. Santos City, Davao, Clark Freeport and  Cagayan Economic Zone.

The local firms would serve as equity partners, Diaz said. He added ownership structure could be different for each facility.

Once operational, these facilities were expected to generate about 8,000 new direct jobs, Diaz added. Amy R. Remo