Food processing firm in Naga inaugurated

CEBU, Philippines - The Southern Partners and Fair Trade Center, Inc. (SPFTC) the other day inaugurated its food processing facilities in barangay Inayagan, Naga City.

The facilities, which can process 2,500 kilos of fresh mangoes daily, are expected to increase the production of small farmers, said Geraldine Labradores, SPFTC's managing director.

"This processing plant will now serve the small farmers, the urban poor communities and women," said Labradores in her speech.

SPFTC, a people's organization established in 1996, buys the harvest of small farmers at a fair price.

By fair price, Labradores said, it is usually around P2-3 higher than the current market value.

SPFTC has about 3,000 small farmers from all over Cebu and some parts of Negros Oriental as its regular clients.

SPFTC also hires women from urban poor groups to serve as production workers.

From the start, SPFTC "hardly had no resources at all," said Labradores.

It was the Japanese government's Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) which funded the upgrading of SPFTC's processing plant by providing P4.5 million for it.

GGP, launched in the Philippines in 1989, is one of Japan's programs that aims to reduce poverty and help communities engage in grassroots activities.

In his speech, Minister Akio Isomata, minister for Economic Affairs of the Embassy of Japan, said the Philippines is famous in his country not only because of its "talented people" but also because of its dried mangoes.

He said mango exportation is a major contributor to the country's foreign exchange reserves, with about 20 foreign countries importing both fresh and processed mango from here that the annual revenue from this industry could reach to USD14 million. Only, "small mango farmers, who are directly involved in mango production have not fully benefited from the scale of the industry," he said.

To this, Labradores said this industry has already been monopolized by major mango suppliers.

The life of their business now lies in the hands of their buyers abroad who prefer fair trade products.

SPFTC exports 80 percent of its products, and the rest is for the local market.

Labradores said that last year, the organization earned P8 million and P800,000 in gross sales both from export and local distribution, respectively.

With the upgraded plant, they hope to increase their income by 20 to 30 percent this year, she said.