THE BOARD of Investments (BOI) reported Monday that Daesang Philippines, Inc. is investing PHP756.24 million in a project that will benefit local cassava farmers.
Daesang is putting up a tapioca starch manufacturing facility in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, which will start its operation by January 2023. It will hire some 492 workers.
The facility is expected to produce 33,000 tons of tapioca starch and 4,446 tons of tapioca residue annually.
“Daesang’s project will increase the cassava starch production capacity of the Philippines by 9 percent from 370,000 metric tons to 403,000 metric tons,” the BOI said.
Tapioca is an extract from cassava roots. Tapioca starch and modified starch are used as raw materials for the food and beverage industry. This is also an emerging material for different industrial applications like polylactic acid commonly used for biodegradable plastic films, bottles, and medical devices.
Tapioca residues, the by-product of cassava starch processing, are utilized for animal feeds.
As the manufacturing plant will need 500 tons of fresh cassava per day, Daesang located its project in the country’s second-largest producing region, which is Northern Mindanao.
This opens an opportunity for local cassava farmers to supply Daesang’s requirements.
Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez said the new project is “making strides in modernizing our country’s agriculture sector”.
Lopez said Daesang’s investment in the Philippines is a product of closer economic ties between Manila and Seoul, as the two governments are working on the signing of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
“This is a breakthrough project for it reflects the strengthened economic partnership between the Philippines and South Korea, as we are on the path to finalizing the free trade agreement. We in the Board Investments, therefore, invite more Korean firms to invest here in the Philippines,” he added. (Kris Crismundo)
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