Wholesale trading facility for fruits, veggies to rise in Benguet

MANILA, Philippines - A P400-million modern wholesale trading and processing facility for vegetables and fruits – dubbed as Agri-Pinoy Trading Center (APTC) – will soon rise on a four-hectare lot in La Trinidad, Benguet.

Due for completion before the end of the year, the APTC will be the biggest and most modern agricultural wholesale trading and processing center in the country.

 According to Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, who led the ceremonial launch of the APTC recently  at the proposed site within the  campus of the Benguet State University (BSU) in La Trinidad, the Benguet APTC would  form part of the country’s integrated food supply chain.

 The APTC would complement the existing trading post near the La Trinidad Municipal Hall. It is envisioned to make trading operations of vegetables and fruits faster, from unloading until payment of goods delivered, thus minimize spoilage and wastage.

 The project will be funded jointly by the DA, provincial and municipal governments of Benguet and La Trinidad, and Rep. Cosalan.

 It will also feature a modern processing facility, to be funded by a $2.5-million grant from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The facility will process vegetables into ready-to-cook “chop suey” packs, vegetable chips and starch.  

The DA plans to establish similar multi-commodity agricultural and fishery trading and processing centers in other major provinces.

 Initial sites include: Isabela and Nueva Ecija, for grains and lowland vegetables; Iloilo for grains and fishery products; Cebu, for fishery and processed fruits; Cagayan De Oro, grains, fruits and vegetables; and General Santos City for marine and aquaculture products, grains, fruits and vegetables.

The Benguet APTC – designed by the Development Academy of the Philippines – features three large trading areas, cold storages, solid waste treatment facility, a dormitory and lounge, commercial spaces for a cafeteria, commercial or cooperative bank, administration office, as well as offices for farmers’ cooperatives, parking area for delivery trucks and refrigerated vans, and other ancillary support facilities.