Buyer's Guide to Ayala Land

DA eyes food terminal at remaining FTI lot
Published January 17, 2019
By Madelaine B.Miraflor

SOURCE:https://business.mb.com.ph/2019/01/17/da-eyes-food-terminal-at-remaining-fti-lot/

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will utilize whatever that is left of the Food Terminal, Inc.’s (FTI) complex in Taguig to serve it’s real purpose, which is to create food terminals. This was nearly seven years since the government privatized a large chunk of the property and sold it to Ayala Group.

In 2012, Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) paid the government as much as P24 billion to purchase the FTI property. Seven years later, FTI said it will spend about P1 billion to build food terminals in six locations, one of which will be located within the remaining portion of FTI complex that is still owned by the government.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the FTI, which is now under the Department of Agriculture (DA), still owns a 25-hectare lot in Taguig and another 11 hectares occupied by informal settlers.

He said that FTI, as per FTI Chairman Raymundo Ferrer, has just recently revived the government’s plan to construct food terminal facilities, which will serve as the consolidation areas for agricultural and fisheries products, across different part of the country.

When completed, the new FTI will have receiving and processing facilities for the produce of farmers and fishermen which will then be sold directly to consumers or vendors’ associations.

“Using modern communication technology, the new FTI will give out daily advisory on the buying prices of such products as chicken and hogs. It will be equipped with processing and cold storage facilities,” Piñol said.

Logistical facilities will also be acquired by the FTI to move the products from the Regional Food Terminals to the market.

When the 74-hectare FTI property was sold to ALI, the proceeds went to DA so the agency could implement modernization projects.