Zanorte Palm Rubber gets incentives for P737M palm oil project

MANILA, Philippines—The Board of Investments (BoI) has granted incentives to local firm Zanorte Palm Rubber Plantation for a P737-million project, which is expected to boost the palm oil as a new growth industry.

According to the BoI, the Zanorte plantation will produce palm oil fruits used as raw materials for crude palm oil production and dried palm kernel by-products. These by-products are sold to food giants like Universal Robina Corp., RFM Corp., Nestlé Philippines and Mina Oil Mill Corp., as well as manufacturers and exporters of soap and other industrial products.

Once operational, the project, which will be located at Sirawai and Sibuco in Zamboanga del Norte, is expected to produce 9,900 metric tons of palm oil and 2,338 MT of dried palm kernel. It is likewise expected to generate 1,055 jobs.

“The Zanorte project will help expand the country’s agro-industries and create much-needed employment opportunities in rural areas. It will also help boost the palm oil industry, which is among the sectors we have identified for industry development,” said Trade Undersecretary and BoI managing head Adrian S. Cristobal Jr.

Based on the Philippine Palm Oil Industry Roadmap 2005-2010, the Philippines is a net importer of palm oil and palm kernels.

Latest data showed that the country’s annual production capacity for palm oil is 54,333 MT, while that of palm kernel is 6.54 MT. Each palm fruit is capable of producing 90 percent palm oil and 10 percent palm kernel oil. Industry data further show that palm oil currently accounts for 21 percent share of the global edible oil market.

Early this year, Zanorte had a rubber plantation project registered with the BoI. The project will develop rubber plantations integrated with processing to produce dried rubber. The firm will sell the products in bulk quantity and in various grades to local firms that use rubber as basic material to manufacture final end-products such as tires and shoes. Initial target buyers are Dunlop, Bridgestone and Yokohama.