The Board of Investments has approved a P1.5-billion project of a local company for the manufacture of wood and grass pellets for export to Asian markets.
According to the BOI, the planned production facility of Pelletasia Victorias Corp. has a capacity of 113,568 tons yearly and is expected to generate 576 new jobs in the next six years.
Pelletasia has already planted napier grass at its plantation located at Sagay City, Negros Occidental, and is set to harvest from more than 70 hectares of the 300 hectares the company has allocated for the project by December this year.
It would be around this time that the company is expected to start its commercial operations.
Pelletasia Victorias is reportedly looking to export majority of its products to Korea and Japan although it was said to be looking at eventually supplying the local market, particularly sugar millers in the country that are set to diversify into bioethanol production from molasses and sugar.
The BOI noted that the company saw a huge potential export market for biomass pellets as international demand for the commodity was projected to increase to as much as 80 million tons a year by 2020 from only 19 million tons in 2013.
“The potential benefits of wood, especially napier grass, are not yet fully explored to substantially become alternative fuels and contribute to energy independence. These resources can be grown in abundance as demand of energy pellets is seen to continuously grow,” Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in a statement Wednesday.
“Together with other potential sources of biomass fuels like bamboo and by-products of agricultural crops, these resources are renewable, which ensures their continued supply. In essence, bioenergy initiative is not only for energy.
It supports agricultural development by adding value to resources which generally are left in the farm or go into waste,” Rodolfo added.
He noted that this project was a good example of how to encourage inclusive growth in rural areas while supporting agricultural development.