Puerto Princesa promotes investment opportunities in seaweed

The city government of Puerto Princesa highlighted seaweed production and processing as among the city's priority investment areas during the Puerto Princesa Investment Forum held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila on September 25, 2019. Mr. Maximo Ricohermoso, founding chairman of the Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP), presented the advantages of Puerto Princesa as a suitable location for seaweed growing and value-added processing. He cited the city's available areas for seaweed farming, good weather patterns, stable security conditions and strong local government support to businessmen as positive factors for investing in the local seaweed industry. Mr. Ricohermoso explained that his company along with many SIAP member-processors have been doing business with Puerto Princesa and Palawan seaweed producers through supply linkages for raw dried seaweeds. Seaweed has been identified by USAID’s Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project as strategic value chain that has high growth potentials in Puerto Princesa and Palawan province. In 2017, USAID/SURGE initiated a package of technical assistance to support the expansion of the local seaweed industry in Puerto Princesa. These included the formal organization of the Puerto Princesa-Palawan Seaweed Network, conduct of quality improvement training for growers, facilitation of market linkages and holding of the annual Palawan Seaweed Industry Summit. USAID/SURGE also brokered an institutional partnership between SIAP and the Seaweed Network that enabled local seaweed growers to obtain important market information and emerging technologies in seaweed production and post-harvest handling.