news/updates
Large sugarcane plantation planned in South Cotabato
By Romer S. Sarmiento
BusinessWorld
February 28, 2008
T'BOLI, SOUTH COTABATO — A group of investors has expressed interest to put up a 20,000-hectare sugarcane plantation in this town, already the host of two large agribusiness companies.
Mayor Ernesto Manuel said that Chinese investors and Filipino businessmen from Bacolod City have been in touch with the local government unit for the planned massive sugarcane project for bio-ethanol production.
"We have the lands to accommodate them. Our precondition, however, is that they must put up a bio-ethanol plant in our locality. We won't allow them to utilize our lands and then bring their produce somewhere else," Mr. Manuel said.
The investors whom the mayor failed to name seemed to be amenable to the arrangement since he said they have already started scouring the area to identify possible plantation sites.
Mr. Manuel said they are waiting for the investors to present their proposal to the Sangguniang Bayan, which is expected to issue a resolution backing the project. T'boli town has more than enough lands for agribusiness ventures even if it already hosts the banana and pineapple companies Upland Banana Corp. and Dole Philippines, Inc., he added.
The mayor said the town has 90,000 hectares and that the combined plantations of Upland Banana and Dolefil have not yet reached 10,000 hectares. He said the entry of a new agribusiness player in the locality will generate more employment for the community and increase tax earnings of the local government unit.
That investors are considerng putting up a sugarcane plantation is in step with the Republic Act 9637 or the Biofuels Act of 2006 signed by President Arroyo into law in January 2007.
Under RA 9637, oil companies are mandated to blend 5% ethanol in gasoline products two years after the signing, or starting in 2009. Four years after the effectivity of the law, the blend will be increased to 10%.
Earlier, Fernando Martinez, Chairman of independent oil company Eastern Petroleum Corp., announced they were planning to put up an ethanol plant in General Santos City, about 100 kilometers from this town by 2010. At a mandatory 5% blend, Mr. Martinez said ethanol demand in the country would run to around 200 million to 300 million liters yearly starting next year and 600 million liters by 2010.
He projected that as many as four to five plants need to be constructed to meet the estimated demand of 300 million liters. He said the project to be carried out by subsidiary Eastern Renewable-Fuels Corp. has the financial backing of Chinese firm Guanxi State Farm.
Guanxi, said Mr. Martinez is a Chinese government-owned corporation "two times bigger than the San Miguel Corp." with nearly a hundred subsidiaries.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the biofuels act as a strategy towards "energy independence" from imported oil, increased economic activity, higher employment in the agriculture sector and to contribute to improving air quality by cutting toxic vehicular emissions.
