Imagining Mindanao as an industrial power

Mindanao is the capital of export agriculture and agro-processing.

- #MINDANAO JOHN TRIA

Through the ports in Davao and Cagayan de Oro flow the pineapples, cavendish bananas, and coconut products destined for the world. If in last week's column I wrote about other industries that can boost Mindanao’s economic growth, I would like to feature in this week's edition some major industries in Mindanao’s agribusiness sector that are worth looking into, given recent developments, and how these can help us imagine Mindanao as an industrial powerthe agro-industrial value chain.Among these are the recent acquisition of the Metro Pacific Group of Franklin Baker’s coconut business and the consolidation by Century Pacific of coconut operations in South Cotabato, General Santos and Misamis Oriental. The Oct. 16, 2025 Manila Bulletin article by James Loyola cites a $45 million investment by Century Pacific in the third facility in Mindanao, this time in Tupi, South Cotabato, boosting production and employment to 800. These developments suggest the longterm viability of the coconut industry on the island, which now is the source of about 61 percent of total Philippine coconut production