A micro fruit processing enterprise in Agusan del Norte has been granted tax and fiscal incentives by the Board of Investments.
With a modest project cost of P1.46 million, KOR-Palm Agricultural Development Philippines Corporation (KADC) has established a fruit processing plant with a maximum annual capacity of 120,000 bottles. The BOI Regional Office in Cagayan approved the export-oriented project.
In approving the project registration for tax and fiscal purposes, BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said it is part of the agency’s efforts to help MSMEs promote and export homegrown products.
The KADC project falls under the MSME category. KOR-Palm’s registration approval was quick as it only needed the approval of the regional office.
“It has always been the priority of the BOI to help prospective entrepreneurs in realizing their businesses. We assure our MSMEs that we are always here for them,” said Rodolfo, who is also Trade and Industry Undersecretary.
KOR-Palm is located in Carmen, Agusan del Norte where it started operations in March 2021. The company produces processed fruits such as mango jam, pineapple jam, and coconut jam which it exports to Korea.
The 100 percent Korean firm was initially engaged in cassava and mango production in 2012. It expanded into the processing and exporting of processed fruits to Korea only in 2019.
KADC outsources the finished product of Carmen Mango Processing Facility (CMPF) to test the product marketability and profitability. CMPF is an enterprise owned and operated by the local government of the Municipality of Carmen, Agusan del Norte. Initially, KADC outsourced 8,160 bottles of mango jam from CMPF in June 2019.
Recently, KOR-Palm decided to rent the old production building of CMPF owned by the municipality of Carmen and invested in its renovation and eventual production in compliance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards.
The firm also buys fruits and materials such as sugar, bottle, and sticker from local suppliers.