The Board of Investments (BOI) approved the P476.5 million project of Royale Cold Storage North Inc., as a new operator of cold storage and blast freezing facilities. The proposed cold storage plant will be constructed in Marilao, Bulacan.
The cold storage plant will have a maximum capacity of 3,409,920 pallets per year for cold storage and 9,720,000 kilograms per year for blast freezing. The plant will provide these services to agriculture, marine, and processed food companies based in Bulacan and Northern Luzon provinces, a statement from Department of Trade and Industry said.
The storage facility is designed to handle various unprocessed, semi-processed raw materials, finished products, perishable commodities such as fruits, vegetables, livestock and poultry products, and processed marine products.
The locally-owned facility is expected to start commercial operations in June 2014 with a manpower requirement of 80 personnel.
The agriculture/agribusiness sector is one of the preferred activities included in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP). The sector covers agriculture - and fishery-related activities such as irrigation, post harvest, cold storage, blast freezing, and production of fertilizers. The BOI is tasked to implement the IPP to further attract investment inflows and boost employment generation for the country.
Investments in cold storage and other post-harvest facilities aim to meet the challenges of the growing demand of agricultural products. Hog and poultry raisers, local farmers, cooperatives, buyers, exporters and importers of fruits and vegetables within the area can utilize the facilities and to support growth of their businesses.
The consumption-driven economy and the booming population indicate the growing demand to maintain not only the safety and quality of the food supply chain but also to enhance the competitiveness of the agriculture sector. The country needs additional cold storage facilities to meet such demand according to the industry group Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP). The group plans to put up such facilities in the southern cities of Mindanao and also within the regions of Northern Luzon, Central Luzon and Central Visayas in the next few years.
CCAP aims to raise the standards of the local cold storage chain industry up to par with the global quality with effective handling, storage and distribution of perishable commodities.
