Frabelle eyes tuna processing facility in India

Homegrown food manufacturing giant Frabelle Fishing Corp. (FFC) is looking to set up a canning facility in India and take advantage of a new source of raw materials for its operations.

FFC president Francisco Tiu Laurel, during the India Philippines Marine Fisheries and Aquatic Business Conference, said India has the potential to yield 230,000 metric tons (MT) of tuna annually that the company could bring to the rest of the world.

Currently, FCC is involved in deep-sea fishing with over 100 vessels operating worldwide. It has also business interests in aquaculture, canning, food manufacturing, processing, food importation and trading, cold storage, shipyard operations, wharf development, real estate development and power generation.

In an e-mail exchange with Inquirer, Laurel said a tuna cannery with a processing capacity of 120 tons of tuna daily would cost between $30 million and $35 million.

There are already numerous Filipino companies with canning operations in Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and Indonesia, but one has yet to enter India.

“We are willing to expand our tuna fleet where we are welcome to fish. That’s something quite encouraging to look at in India. The Philippines will be willing to invest as they’re allowed to fish, if that is possible,” Laurel said in a statement.

Cherian Kurian, managing director of India’s M/s HIC ABF Special Foods, also welcomed FCC’s investment interest.

“We recognize the Philippines as a world leader in tuna processing … the Indian government announced a policy to exploit these resources. Today we do canning in India, but volume is so low,” he said.

Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food president Danilo Fausto said the expansion of the country’s fishery sector by means of trade cooperation could significantly improve the lives of Filipino fisherfolk. Over 1.6 million people are employed in the sector, 85 percent of whom are municipal fishers while 1 percent are involved in commercial fishing, according to Fausto.

The Philippines exports 90 percent of its tuna production to the European Union, the US, Middle East, Japan and Australia. Tuna is also the country’s biggest seafood export, valued between $300 million and $400 million annually.

Fausto said both countries could benefit from an exchange of resources, technology and know-how when it comes to the fisheries industry.