Seafood Plant, not for commercial operations
WITH a gross capacity of only five tons per day, the Seafood Processing Plant built by the Korean government for Dagupan City is not designed for commercial operation, said a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) executive.
Dr. Westly Rosario, designated interim manager of the plant in addition to his duties as chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center (NIFTDC), a research facility under the BFAR, pointed out that had the plant been intended for commercial purposes, the donor Korean government would have provided funds for a bigger facility.
Rosario said a commercial plant would have a processing capacity of at least 100 tons per day, as in some Asian countries and Norway.
The plant has been a controversial point of contention with the city government under Mayor Benjamin Lim intending to privatize the facility while Fourth District Rep. Gina de Venecia asserts that it is intended as a research and service facility and should stay under the management of BFAR.
De Venecia, whose husband former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. initiated the sourcing of the fund from the Korean government, said privatizing the plant will mean closing its door to small-scale fish processors who are now using the facility to improve their products and earn more.
NO TO BIG DEAL
Rosario cited the rejection of a proposal of a group of Korean and Taiwanese exporters last week who wanted full use of the plant for a specified period to process fish for export.
He said agreeing to the deal would have meant denying use of the facility to small-scale processors, defeating the very purpose for which it was put up.
It was Rosario and then Dagupan City Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. who drafted the formal proposal submitted to the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) seeking a P100 million grant for the establishment of a seafood processing plant in Dagupan after then Speaker De Venecia arranged the grant with higher Korean officials.
The proposal indicates that the plant is to serve as a research and service facility in order to improve the local fishing industry and help marginalized fishermen.
Rosario noted that when availing of the services of the plant, small fish processors pay a nominal fee of P20 per kilo, of which P15 goes to the deboners hired by the facility and P5 to the management.
This P5, he added, goes straight to the national coffer to cover at least the plant’s electricity cost.
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