Tag: Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

THE Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) said new carrageenan applications have improved the industry’s prospects after a safety scare.

THE Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA) expects to distribute for free to abaca farmers planting materials that can produce up to 54.4 million abaca plants.

MEMBERS of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council had reservations about pursuing a government-to-government (G2G) rice procurement deal under which the Philippines had to pay a higher price to ensure delivery of Thai and Vietnamese rise by the end of 2018.

THE Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) signed a joint memorandum circular on Wednesday strengthening enforcement of the ban on bottom trawling within municipal waters.

ANIMAL nutrition provider Cargill is investing P12.5 billion ($235 million) to grow its business in the Philippines over the next two years, amid rising domestic demand for chicken and pork.

THE National Food Authority (NFA) offered a substantially higher reference price and made a full award of 203,000 metric tons of rice in government-to-government supply deals with Vietnam and Thailand, all for December delivery.

PORK PRODUCERS said Tuesday that the supply of pork will be sufficient, with the possibility of oversupply, during the yearend holidays, despite an import ban in force against various countries due to African Swine Fever (ASF).

LISTED mining company Nickel Asia Corporation on Tuesday said its board of directors approved the plan to buy back up to P1.5 billion worth of shares in the next two years.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) needs to announce a clear schedule for its proposed new crop timetable to facilitate the timing of imports, according to a former administrator of the National Food Authority (NFA).

SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the committee on food and agriculture, said on Monday that the National Food Authority (NFA) will not be abolished with the implementation of the rice tariffication bill.

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) is planning to open more rice plantations in the island of Samar, citing that the area is less stricken by typhoons, and has enough land area to help compensate losses experienced in the northern and central parts of Luzon.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) to protect agricultural products from distinctive geographical regions.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) needs to evaluate soil types and their suitability to crops on a regional basis before it implements changes to the planting calendar, according to an expert from the Climate Change Commission (CCC).

A FARMERS’ organization said the agriculture sector stands to lose revenue worth P60 billion annually if the rice tariffication bill is enacted, and warned that politicians could get their hands on the collected tariffs.

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he will lobby for the increase of coconut oil content in fuel to 5% from 2% for fuel used by the government, bringing the biofuel standard to B5 from B2.

THE DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it is open to amendments on the Minahang Bayan program, as proposed by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA).

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) are lobbying for the lifting of the moratorium on applications for mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA), which can only be possible with a new fiscal regime, according to an official.

BAGUIO CITY — Suspended quarrying company Apo Land Quarry Corporation (ALQC) is hoping to be allowed to resume operations while they are in the process of complying with the requirements set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

ONLY 15,000 metric tons (MT) of rice has been awarded out of a total of 350,000 MT private-sector import volume allocated to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said.

AGRICULTURE SECRETARY Emmanuel F. Piñol is batting for tariffs on palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, claiming that imports have been flooding the Philippine market to the detriment of Filipino producers.

THE Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) said that the government is uncoordinated in regulating small-scale mining operations and the creation of Minahang Bayan reserves will only make matters worse.

COMPANIES interested in the open rice importation program may start filing applications today, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said, noting that there is no need to wait for the passage of the rice tariffication bill to proceed with the implementation of the measure.

THE AYALA GROUP will buy fresh vegetables from a cooperative in El Nido, Palawan with a view towards possibly supplying its resort network in northern Palawan, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.

FIVE PRIVATE bidders from across Southeast Asia will be awarded contracts by the National Food Authority (NFA) to import 500,000 metric tons (MT) of rice, with the auction finding takers even though bids were generally lower compared to the reference price of $447.88 quoted in the government-to-government auction earlier in the month.

SUPREME COURT (SC) Associate Justice Francis H. Jardeleza, a former longtime corporate lawyer, remains the richest magistrate for 2017 with a net worth of P261.08 million based on his statement of assets, liabilities, and net worth (SALN), which was released yesterday by the SC.

THAILAND’S East-West Seed Group said that it will introduce new varieties of seed into the Philippine market where it expects strong growth due to increased consumption of vegetables.

RICE planted by Filipino farmers in Papua New Guinea (PNG) will be ready for harvest in December, to be sold in that country and the excess exported to the Philippines, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is seeking to develop the building materials market for coconut farmers by touting coconut by-product material as ecologically friendly and low-cost.

THE PILIPINO Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said that it is in talks with its buyers in South Korea to lobby Seoul to reach a bilateral agreement with the Philippines that allows for tax-free imports of Philippine bananas, from 30% currently.

THE National Food Authority (NFA) Council has authorized an adjustment in the reference price for the import auction covering 203,000 metric tons (MT) of rice, in the hope that the new price will be more acceptable to key government-to-government suppliers Vietnam and Thailand.

THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it rejected the bids of Thailand and Vietnam in the second government-to-government (G2G) auction for 203,000 metric tons (MT) of long grain rice at the 25% broken grade, with bids much higher than the $447.88 per MT reference price.

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Tuesday that appropriate action will be taken once a report on garbage shipped from South Korea to the Philippines is released, possibly this week.

APO Cement Corporation said that it is now forced to lay-off about 30% of its employees and terminate 40% of its contractors after the shutdown of its principal raw material supplier Apo Land & Quarry Corporation (ALQC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, following a landslide in Naga, Cebu last September.

LAGUNA -- The onset of 6.7% inflation in September disrupted many people’s lives, not least of them the poor, who now have to make do with less. Inflation’s effects are visible to anyone who fills up his car with fuel or puts together a household budget or buys groceries. For those who spend most of their time in the online world, inflation has even become meme-worthy, with the price of the humble sili scandalizing the population and urban legends cropping up about commuters offering to pay their way with chili peppers, once so common as to be given away free at restaurants, now worth their proverbial weight in bus fare.

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Agricultural Resources (BFAR) said that the Philippines has to develop markets for tilapia, a widely-cultivated fish, amid a consumer preference for galunggong, or round scad.

THE United States is projecting a 10% increase in foodexports to the Philippines to $2.83 billion in 2018.

THE Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association (IPPCA) opposed the plan of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to increase the biofuel component in diesel to B5 from B2.

THE International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will invest $63.5 million to support agriculture-based micro and small enterprises in 20 provinces across Eastern Visayas and Mindanao.

AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said that the board of governors of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) will recommend to President Rodrigo R. Duterte to fully implement a law increasing the coconut content of diesel to 5%.

THE COUNTRY’s agricultural production fell for the first time in seven quarters in the three months to September amid the onslaught of four storms, according to data released on Wednesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), showing the sector weighed on overall economic growth for the same period which will be reported Thursday.

AGRINURTURE, Inc. (ANI) signed a $37.6-million supply deal with Beijing-based conglomerate SinoChem.

THIRTEEN international companies participated in the pre-bid conference of the National Food Authority (NFA) on Wednesday for an import order covering 500,000 metric tons (MT) of long-grain white rice of the 25% broken grade.

THE AUCTION Tuesday for the 203,000 metric tons (MT) of rice by the National Food Authority (NFA) under a government-to-government (G2G) agreement failed to attract offers from Thailand and Vietnam.

THE DAMAGE to agriculture inflicted by typhoon Rosita (international name: Yutu) hit P2.60 billion, affecting 103,605 hectares of land in the Cordillera Administrative region and Regions 1 to 3, based on estimates issued by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (DRRMC).

THE CONFEDERATION of Sugar Producers (CONFED) in Negros and Panay said it is lobbying Congress to reverse the budget cuts which reduced the funding for the Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) to P500 million next year from P2 billion in 2018.