February 11, 2008

Philippines to supply eggs to Brunei for BIMP-EAGA hatchery

The Philippines will initially provide fertilized eggs to Brunei for the setting up an egg hatchery in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) region.

Antonio Santos, chair of the BIMP-EAGA Business Council, said that there have been discussions between Brunei and the Philippines during the strategic planning of the sub-region in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia last month.

Under the proposal, the Philippines will just provide fertilized eggs to be grown in Brunei.

Furthermore, Santos said there is a plan to engage the national government so that egg producers will be able to buy cheaper corn from areas outside the country, particularly from Manado, Indonesia.

The business sector hopes that the government will extend assistance to the project, through the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Santos pointed that the initiative also seeks to come up with a better poultry industry project. The plan, he said is still being finalized.

Last year, there was another initiative led by Vicente Lao, one of the biggest poultry raisers in Mindanao, for the joint venture agreement between Brunei and Mindanao for a poultry project after the four-industry initiative failed.

But the initiative of Lao did not gain grounds due to the failure of the industry players to come up with a Halal certification board that will be acceptable to the international markets.

The Halal industry project came about after leaders of the sub-region noticed the lack of Halal poultry products in the world.