Taiwan's Grobest opens US$15 million feed plant in Philippines

 

Grobest Holdings Limited, a top Taiwanese feed company - had opened a US$15 million feed production plant in Gerona, Tarlac, the Philippines, during the early part of December this year, the Philippines News Agency reported.

 

Located on a 14.2-hectare property, Grobest Feeds Philippines Inc. has an annual production capacity of 150,000 tonnes for aquatic feeds and 200,000 tonnes for livestock feeds. Employing new technologies to create high-quality feeds, the facility will use agriculture products - produced in the Philippines - for raw materials.

 

Up to 200 local workers are expected to be involved in the plant's operations.

 

The inauguration of the Grobest Feeds Philippines Inc. site was led by Dr. Gary Song-Huann Lin, the representative of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines; Dr. Bao-Ji Chen, the Taiwanese Minister of Council of Agriculture; Amadeo Perez Jr., the chair of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO); Antonio Basilio, MECO's resident representative in Taiwan; Benjamin Tabios, the assistant director of the  Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); and Norman Go, Gerona's mayor.

 

Grobest's key executives, An-Hung Chuang, Robert Chen and Anne Go, were also in attendance.

 

The new facility is seen as strong proof of a growing relationship between the Philippines and Taiwan, authorities of both nations said. It will also provide indirect benefits for stakeholders in the aquaculture sector, according to the Philippines News Agency.

 

Minister Chen highlighted the importance of investing in aquaculture feed production to help maintain food security through aquaculture.

 

"The growing population of both countries would propel Taiwan and the Philippines to look to the ocean for food security," he said. "Further cooperation in other areas of agriculture between our countries should also be explored for the mutual benefits of both sides."

 

MECO's Basilio pointed that the Grobest plant reflects the signing of the "Philippines-Taiwan Agreement Concerning the Facilitation of Cooperation on Law Enforcement in Fisheries Matters" on November 5 this year.

 

In addition, BFAR's Tabios revealed that the Philippine Department of Agriculture would aid Grobest in marketing its products to Luzon provinces and other regions in the country.