News From : DagangHalal.com (04 Jun 2009)
THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry has identified two areas in Davao del Sur as possible areas for expansion of a Thailand company which is into poultry production.
Lawyer Lucky Siegfried M. Balleque, acting manager of the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center, an attached agency of the Trade department, said that the Thai company, Charoen Pokphand Foods, has asked the National Economic Development Authority to identify an area for its possible expansion in the country.
Balleque said that Maria Lourdes D. Lim, National Economic Development Authority regional director, in turn sought the help of his office in identifying the possible area for expansion that will be submitted to the Thai company.
“We have identified several areas but we have zeroed in on Davao del Sur because of some factors,” the official told the TIMES last week. Among the factors, Balleque added, is that the proposed area is near a source of water and a port, two requirements that might entice the foreign company to expand in the country.
He said that representatives of the company might schedule a visit to the proposed area within the next two months. “We hope they (company officials) will get interested in setting up their operations here,” he added.
Balleque added that his agency will also present other areas if the company decides to look for more areas from which it could choose where it wants to operate.
Based on its website, the company, which is into agri-business and operates not just in its home base but in other countries, is part of the Charoen Pokphand Group, the largest conglomerate in Thailand.
The core business of the subsidiary is livestock including poultry raising and agriculture, and is also into adding value to its products. It also produces its own feeds for both livestock and aquaculture.
On the other hand, Mindanao, including the Davao Region, has been identified as a good area for poultry production. Several years ago, business leaders of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area identified the island as possible area for Halal production.
Under the concept, which was the proposed by Vicente T. Lao, at present the chair of the Mindanao Business Council, Mindanao was the area where chicken would be grown, while Indonesia would be the source of the feeds particularly corn, Malaysia would take charge of the processing and Brunei would be into the Halal certification.
Mindanao was identified as area for chicken growing because its poultry industry did not suffer from the onslaught of bird flu, while Indonesia was known for cheaper corn which is about 70% of the feed.
But the plan failed to take off due to some differences even when the key business groups that were to mplement it were about to set up the company.
Ironically, the sub-regional plan then was an attempt to fill the void left by the Thailand poultry industry which then was suffering from the impact of the bird flu.
Source:Mindanao Times