P500-M Taguig cold storage eyed amid veggie glut

The Department of Agriculture (DA) unveiled plans to construct more cold storage facilities in Taguig City to reduce postharvest losses and address oversupply of agricultural products.The agency is looking at constructing a chiller warehouse dedicated to vegetables and other high-value crops on a 1.3-hectare section of the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in Taguig City.

The FTI, an entity under the DA, is a food processing, leasing and distribution hub located in Taguig that provides prime locations for office and commercial spaces, storage and warehousing and food processing, among others.With a project cost of P500 million, the warehouse will be equipped with a processing plant and trading area, which will prioritize farmers’ produce for buffer stocking.Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said developing the warehouse was part of the agency’s plan to centralize all agriculture logistics management matters.

“All cold storage facilities of the DA will be transferred to the logistics office, which will conduct research and inventory of all facilities within the Philippines to ensure synchronization,” he said.

The agriculture secretary disclosed his plans during a visit to the FTI on Monday.

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Meanwhile, Laurel told FTI officials to purchase excess produce of farmers and supply those to Kadiwa outlets, where food items are sold to the public at prices lower than prevailing prices.“The plan is also to strengthen the Kadiwa program of the DA. I plan to return Kadiwa to the FTI after two years,” he added. INQ