P1-B Thai coconut processing plant rising in Cagayan de Oro this year

A new coconut processing facility is set to start operations by the end of the year. INQUIRER.net stock images

MANILA, Philippines – A new coconut processing facility backed by a Thailand-based firm is expected to debut in Cagayan de Oro City by the end of the year, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said on Monday.

According to Peza Director General Tereso Panga, the facility planned by PhilCo Food Processing, Inc., an affiliate of the Thailand-based World Group of Companies, is slated to begin commercial operations between December this year and January 2026.

Citing the Philippine Information Agency, Peza said that a 20-year lease agreement had been signed on April 11 between the firm and the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp. (Phividec) Industrial Authority.

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The Thai company will pay an initial annual lease of P6.33 million to the government-owned and -controlled corporation, with a 5-percent increase set each year.

Construction works are set to begin within the Phividec Industrial Estate in October this year, Peza said.

The facility will rise on a 39,596-square-meter site in Mohon, Tagoloan, and is expected to produce 78,000 tons of ultra-high temperature (UHT) coconut milk annually, along with frozen coconut meat.

These products will be mostly exported to overseas markets including the United States, the European Union and Thailand.

The facility is anticipated to generate 2,500 jobs and broaden market opportunities for coconut farmers in northern Mindanao and surrounding provinces.

About 500,000 coconuts will be sourced daily from farmers in these areas, providing a significant boost to Mindanao’s agricultural economy, according to the government. INQ