"May posibilidad na magsu-supply na ng mas maraming tilapia ang Davao sa Cagayan because of that processing plant," Bfar-11 regional director George Campeon told Sun.Star.
Campeon said the plant, which is a government project, has an estimated cost of P10 million and will be ste up in a three-hectare property in Cagayan de Oro City.
"Ginagawa na ang feasibility study, by next year, mag-start na ang construction," Campeon said adding that the National Government has chosen the plant to be constructed in Cagayan de Oro City because nearby provinces, like Lanao del Sur, are producing bigger volume of tilapia.
"Hindi lang Region 11 ang magsu-supply ng tilapia, actually, magsu-supply din ang Region 9, 10, at 12," Campeon said.
But Campeon said that he has still no idea the volume of tilapia that will be transported to Cagayan de Oro.
"Hindi ko pa alam kung ilan talaga ang kukunin nila from Region 11, depende yan sa order nila," Campeon said.
Meanwhile, Campeon said he will propose that the processing plant will take charge of transporting tilapia from the city to Cagayan de Oro.
"Ang plano ko, bahala na ang plant na mag-provide ng sasakyan para makuha ang mga products dito, sila dapat ang kukuha ng products, kahit mababa ang presyo basta sigurado," he said.
It was learned that the buying price of tilapia now ranges from P80 to P85 per kilo.
On the other hand, Bfar reported the production of tilapia as of the third quarter of 2006 increased by 8.4 percent as compared to the same period last year.
TheFishSite News Desk