Alliance Select Foods to set up shop in US

MANILA, Philippines - Publicly-listed Alliance Select Foods International (FOOD), the leading canned tuna manufacturer in the country, plans to set up shop in the United States as part of a strategy to further expand its reach.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, FOOD (formerly Alliance Tuna International) said its board approved yesterday a plan to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary to be called ASFI Choice Foods Inc. to serve as its vehicle in the trading and marketing of its products in the US.

FOOD has been authorized to extend $435,000 in cash advances to ASFI Choice Foods immediately upon the latter’s incorporation. The money shall be treated as deposit for subscriptions by FOOD in ASFI Choice Foods.

FOOD is engaged in tuna processing, canning and exporting of canned tuna products with facilities in General Santos City in Mindanao and in Bitung, in the island of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It exports to Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and South America, and is a “private label manufacturer” of canned tuna and processes tuna cans using its customers’ brands.

It also processes the by-products and scraps from its tuna processing operations into fishmeal, which it sells to Philippine and foreign feed millers.

The company has a marketing representative office in Bangkok, Thailand to tap the network of buyers and brokers who use Thailand as a base to buy canned tuna.

FOOD also has a 40 percent stake in FDCP, Inc., a can-making company, which ensures the availability of quality cans at competitive prices and sustainable supply.