Tuna Meat Scraps Make A Viable Industry In Philippinesff
29 January 2007
Philippines
Aside from tuna canneries, the local tuna industry is being pumped up by the mushrooming of entrepreneurs engaged in the processing of various tuna value-added products.
Years ago, the processing of tuna meat into as many as 20 variations now - such as chorizo, patties, spring roll, kekiam, sausage, embotido, siomai and nuggets barbeque, among others - have remained in the shadows of the large canned tuna companies.
It was only about three years ago that the tuna value-added business, confined mostly in the backyards of small but creative entrepreneurs, has been seriously addressed by concerned government agencies.
Previously, no consolidated record or value of the thriving industry could be found. Mostly, the focus is on the performance of the large tuna canneries, dubbed the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines.â€
Now, the Department of Trade and Industry is consolidating the performance of the tuna value-added industry in a bid to highlight its contribution and encourage more investors, whether small or big, to engage in the production of various tuna delicacies.
In fact, the City Government, owing to the great potentials of tuna value-added products in the domestic and international markets, has designated this industry in its “one town, one product†(Otop) thrust.
Arnel Sayco, Otop point person, said the tuna-value added industry generated at least $27.6 million in export sales last year and P45.8 million domestic sales for the same period.
In early 2005, the DTI registered 23 firms in this sector but Sayco, who is also the DTI deputy chief in this city, stressed these have since grown to 80 small-and-medium scale players.
More than 500 people have been employed by the sector, industry records showed.
â€We have conducted development trainings for tuna value-added processors with the help of other government agencies,†Sayco said.
Among the government agencies helping to strengthen the tuna value-added industry is the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Agriculture, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, among others.
â€Processors and their workers need to undergo trainings such as on good manufacturing practices to make their products competitive,†Sayco said.
The tuna value added products have been getting significant domestic and international exposures last year, which explains why export sales rose to $27.6 million in 2006 from $11.5 in 2004.
Last year, tuna value-added products were showcased in the International Boston Seafoods Show in Massachusetts, considered the “biggest and most visited food†show in the United States.
Three companies from this city took part in the food show and they were able to generate booked sales of $10 million, Sayco said.
At the local front, industry players participated in the Philippine Food Expo, International Food Expo, Mindanao Food Expo and, of course, in the annual tuna congress in this city.
Japanese, European, American and Asean institutional buyers have attended these food fairs.
Sayco said they have formally organized last year the tuna value-added products core group, initially composed of 12 companies, to further strengthen the sector.
The core group has affiliated itself with the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) to further enhance sales on foreign shores, he added.
Nelly Nita Dillera, DTI-Central Mindanao business development division chief, said prospects for the tuna value-added product industry are bright.
â€The industry has abundant raw materials, there is availability of skills and technology, existing local market and expanding foreign market,†she said.
Dillera said the ever-creative entrepreneurs are developing new cuisines to address the fast-paced lifestyle and growing health consciousness among consumers.
Tuna is a good source of protein, vitamins, minerals and Omega-3 fatty acids. Research shows that Omega-3 fatty acids can help lower the risks of heart disease, improve immune and inflammatory conditions, ease the pain of arthritis, reduce the risk of certain cancers, and help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Dillera said that tuna value-added products have significant markets in Japan, Korea, United States, Hongkong and other countries.
She noted that support facilities for the growth of the tuna-value added products are in place, citing among them the fish port complex at Barangay Tambler, said to be the most modern and the second largest in the country.
Moreover, there are some 40 cold storage plants in the city that can accommodate at least 12,615 metric tons daily.
There are also the sea- and air- ports that could facilitate daily transport of products to other parts of the country and eventually to other parts of the globe, Dillera said.
Rock Garay, co-owner of Frescomar Seahelm Corp, assured the tuna meat scraps processed into variations are of good quality.
â€These tuna meats are excess of what we need for our smoked tuna products. We sold them to several processors for transforming into various delicacies,†he said.
Frescomar helps the processors by carrying in its chain of stores here and in Davao City the tuna value-added products.
One of the more popular processing firms supplied by Frescomar with tuna meats is the A & J Seafoods of Aurora Amagan.
Amagan, a manikyurista from Pampanga who eventually made a fortune here from turning tuna scrap meats into delicious menus, has successfully steered her firm into a viable enterprise.
In the past five years, A & J Seafoods has earned several recognitions from domestic and international product excellence award giving bodies, among them the Golden Five Continents Award for Quality and Excellence in France and the Global Quality Management from the Trade Leaders Club in Madrid, Spain in 2005.
â€I’m a stricter in terms of quality. I personally supervise the manufacturing of my line products,†said Mrs. Amagan, who is being looked up as “an icon of sorts†in the tuna value added products industry.
She said her products have found its way into the markets of Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Canada, France, Portugal, Los Angeles, New York and Australia.
Amagan said her firm was able to trail blaze the tuna by-product industry because the company's goods are made of pure tuna and laced with natural vegetable binders like carrots, radish, yam beans, onions, raisins, pepper and eggs.
â€These make our products really healthy foods,†Amagan said.
