DAVAO CITY -- Davao Region’s first processing plant for shrimp products set to create employment for over a hundred Dabawenyos opened Friday at the Davao Fish Port Complex in Toril, this city.
Anderlude Seafoods Corp. Chief executive officer Ludevito Batilong said the plant process packs of tempura (nobashi ebi), headless shrimps, whole shrimp which the company will supply to domestic market all over the country.Batilong has a foreign investor, Anders Haagen who is from Denmark.
The company grows shrimps in 45-hectare area in Dumoy, Toril. It has a 14-hectare area farm in Coronon, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur and 68 hectares in Hagonoy, Davao del Sur. The total production in these aeas is at 142 to 180 tons every month. It has leased some 600 sq. meters area in the fish port. Of the total area, 300 sq. meters is dedicated to the processing facility which process 3 tons of the products daily in a single shift.
According to Batilong, there is a big demand of the products in the country. The requirement in Davao City alone from Monday to Thursday is five tons daily and goes up to 10 tons on Friday to Sunday.
He also said that the company already had a purchase order of 2.5 million pieces of processed shrimps for delivery next month to a Manila buyer.
There is great potential in this industry, he said, especially now that seafood preference among consumers is increasing. Batilong said he will first concentrate on the distribution of their products within the country, targeting small restaurants and eateries to patronize their products like the tempura.
"We wanted to teach this small eateries how to prepare the food and for them to offer good food like the tempura to ordinary people as we deliver the ready to cook shrimp in the morning and collect payment the next day," he said.
He said he would also be helping this small businesses earn additional income by offering the product at affordable price of PHP5 per piece for a shrimp of five inches in size. The company is also eyeing malls, restaurants and other institution.
Batilong said that part of their future plans is an expansion of their production area. Exporting their products to foreign market is also part of their long term plan. (Digna D. Banzon/PNA)
