MVP Group still keen on agri investments

MANILA, Philippines - The group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan is still intent on pursuing agriculture investments in the country despite the difficulty in acquiring substantial tracts of land.

Interviewed on the sidelines of the launch of new TV 5 program Yaman ng Bayan on Friday night, Panglinan said Hong-Kong based First Pacific Co. Ltd. is still interested in pursuing commercial rice cultivation in the Philippines and bullish about sugar prospects in the country.

Pangilinan said the prospective agricultural investments in the Philippines would be carried out by First Pacific’s food unit PT Indofood, the largest food producer in Indonesia.

In 2012, Pangilinan and hybrid rice seed grower SL Agritech Corp. engaged in talks for a partnership on large scale rice farming in which First Pacific would provide the tracts of land while SL Agritech will provide the rice seeds.

“It’s still under discussion with SL Agritech. But it would still be pursued here,” Pangilinan said. SL Agritech, owned by businessman Henry Lim Bon Liong  is a subsidiary of the Sterling Paper group of companies. It was formed in 1998, performing research work on hybrid rice.

At least 10,000 hectares is needed for the project.

Pangilinan said he is interested in the development of agriculture as a major industry in the country because of numerous opportunities and challenges brought about by the implementation of the free trade regime within Southeast Asia in 2015.

“We want to go for agriculture as a major industry in the country.

When the Asean free trade regime starts in 2015, our agriculture will be impacted by the lowering of tariffs,” he said.

First Pacific recently acquired a 34 percent stake in local sugar miller Roxas Holdings. Inc. (RHI)

In the pipeline are various capacity building projects to improve production in RHI’s various sugar mills as well as possible synergies for tapping opportunities in Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia where First Pacific has a firm foothold.

“We invested in sugar and we can help farmers improve productivity in sugar. We try our best to make the industry as competitive as possible,” said Pangilinan.

Early in 2013, Pangilinan said the conglomerate is eyeing some 30,000 hectares of land in Davao Oriental for palm oil production. This total hectarage, while substantial for domestic agriculture, is only 10 percent of the land area secured by Indofood in Indonesia.