THE Board of Investments (BoI) said on Monday that it approved the application for registration of Metro Pacific Dairy Farms, Inc., which plans to start operations in March 2025 at a site in Laguna.
In a statement, the BoI said that the project, which will require an initial investment of P2 billion, will make dairy products and plant-based beverages. It is due to start operations in March 2025 in Laguna.
“We at the BoI are excited about the introduction of advanced dairy farming technology, which promises to deliver superior quality and production efficiency while significantly boosting local dairy and plant-based beverage production,” BoI Managing Head and Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said.
“This initiative is a crucial stride towards enhancing our food security and reducing our dependence on imported milk. Achieving greater self-sufficiency in our dairy supply likewise ensures that Filipino consumers have access to fresh, high-quality local products,” he added.
Metro Pacific’s facility will house a thousand cows producing up to 6.5 million liters of raw milk annually. It will use advanced dairy farming practices using Israeli technology.
“The project aims to address the gap in our local dairy production capacity while also catering to the rising interest in plant-based dairy alternatives,” the BoI said.
The National Dairy Authority estimates that the Philippines imports 99% of its dairy requirement of 2.93 billion liters.
Production capacity for plant-based milk is estimated at 24.4 million liters, according to the Rapid Industry Appraisal of the Philippine Plant-Based Foods Industry commissioned by the investment promotion agency.
“Metro Pacific’s project is expected to boost this capacity by 12%, reaching 27.4 million liters per year and enabling the local supply to meet 95% of the forecasted demand of 28.8 million liters by 2025,” the BoI said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
