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Aquaculture expected to post 8% growth

Aquaculture is expected to post the highest growth rate among agriculture sub-sectors this year at 8.2 percent, the Department of Agriculture said.

Following aquaculture are banana at 6.2 percent, poultry at 5.4 percent, and municipal fisheries at 4.7 percent, the department said.

With nearly all available rice land already utilized, the rice sub-sector may post a 4.4 percent growth this year. The department said this would still be higher that the average annual global growth in rice production of only about 2.5 percent.

The department said the overall growth rate of the agriculture sector would be about four percent, to be driven by a seven-point blueprint focused on infrastructure programs for the farm and fisheries sectors.

The department has been particularly optimistic about mariculture — the raising of aquatic animals in saltwater. Continue reading here

Cocoa: Answer to RP’s need for a cash crop?

Multinational confectionary giant Mars Inc. believes the Philippines could still revive its once lucrative cocoa industry to become among Asia’s supplier of cocoa beans—a main ingredient for chocolates.

Peter van Grinsven, cocoa sustainability field-research manager of Mars, said that growing cocoa plants is not an entirely new concept to Filipino farmers, who, for a period, had also delved not only in the production but also in the export of cocoa beans.

“Up until the mid-1980s, local production of cocoa beans was estimated at 50,000 metric tons, of which 27,000 tons were exported while the rest was consumed locally,” he says.

Grinsven says that cocoa beans were produced in huge plantations owned by private Philippine companies that have their own infrastructure, agronomists, nurseries, technicians, pest disease specialists and marketing network.

“But what happened in the Philippines was that with the land reform act, some cocoa farmers became small holder crops and local institutions weren’t ready to provide infrastructure, technical and market support for farmers,” he notes.

Thus, in a very short time, Philippine cocoa production had started to decline to 5,000 tons, all of which are consumed by chocolate makers in Manila.

Growing global demand

Meanwhile, on the regional front, there is a large and growing cocoa grinding industry in Asia but there are insufficient locally grown cocoa beans to feed it.

Combined, China, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia import about 220,000 metric tons of good quality fermented beans from West Africa where 70 percent of the world’s cocoa is currently produced.

According to Mars, this scenario presents a golden opportunity which the Philippines can tap, as it has the potential to produce at least 100,000 metric tons of cocoa, making it the potentially second-biggest farm export-earner, next to coconut.

Based in Virginia, US, Mars produces some of the world’s favorite and leading chocolate brands including M&M’s, Snickers and Mars. It operates more than 100 manufacturing facilities in over 65 countries.

“This is an exciting thing for the Philippines. Asia, in the last 15 years, has seen an enormous increase in cocoa processing firms who buy cocoa beans to make as chocolate, cocoa butter and powder,” Grinsven says.

According to Grinsven, global demand for cocoa has steadily increased over the last decade, and this trend is expected to continue in the foreseeable future.

Add to that, he explains, world consumption of chocolate is increasing by 90,000 tons (90 million kilos annually for two reasons—the emergence of new consumers particularly China and India; and a gradual shift in consumption to dark chocolates from milk chocolates in traditional cocoa consuming countries such as United States and in Europe).

Dark chocolates have higher contents of cocoa, so more cocoa beans are needed to produce this kind of chocolate.

“It is also profitable since in the last four months, price has increased by $700. Currently, dry fermented cocoa bean costs $2,500 a ton in the global market,” Grinsven discloses. Continue reading here

Business Trade Fairs, Expos and Seminars You Should Attend

March 5-8, 2009 – 8th Philippine Food Expo 2009
March 5-7, 2009 – PIFBEX Expo 2009
March 7, 14 & 28, 2009 – Money Matters for Women, SM Megamall & North Edsa
March 7, 2009 – Baguio City Franchise Seminar

photos from marinebio.org, litemexicanfood.com

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