BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
TUGUEGARAO CITY (June 16)—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) market linkage assistance program is gaining results in the town of Enrile in Cagayan province.
Known to be the “Peanut Capital of the Philippines,” Enrile town, however, has been on hiatus in supply for more than 40 years, but this time it is going to supply with its locally grown peanuts the well-known peanut company called Growers.
Romeo Panopio 2nd, Processed Fruits and Nuts (PFN) DTI Region 2 focal person, has facilitated the said market linkage, as well as the laboratory analysis, coordination and delivery of one-ton, shelled peanuts with the Growers Food Industries Enterprises Inc. (GFIEI).
Also, the DTI Cagayan through its provincial PFN focal person Maricris Galinggana provided the needed logistics for the said activity in partnership with the Provincial Government of Cagayan through the Gov. Manuel Mamba.
Panopio said they reached the doorsteps of Growers on June 2, 2022 which was made possible through the market linkage assistance of the DTI in Region 2.
He said the DTI linkage assistance was an off-shoot of the Webinar on Business Opportunities in the Peanut Industry conducted by the Industry Development Division or IDD of DTI Region 2 in October 2021.
According to the DTI, the GFIEI is a local Filipino company that is well-known for the Growers brand that offers a wide range of nut-based snacks that include cashews, almonds, pili nuts, and peanuts.
The DTI said these Growers products are exported to North America, the Middle East, Europe and other Asian countries.
Kynan Shu Too, GFIEI president, said that most of their raw materials are imported which provides a huge opportunity for the region to supply more peanuts to GFIEI.
Shu Too expressed his hope for more peanut supplies from Cagayan Valley in order to assist more farmers in Region 2 which comprises the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and the island province of Batanes.
Meanwhile, the DTI Region 2 headed by Director Leah Pulido Ocampo, said it will convene the peanut farmers from Enrile town as well as Alcala town in Cagayan for the succeeding batches of sustainable peanut supply to Growers.