PhilCo Food Processing, Inc., a unit of Thai World Group of Companies, is investing more than PHP1 billion within the Phividec Industrial Estate in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental province, according to the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA).

PEZA told trade reporters in a Viber message that the investment promotion agency had already registered the project of PhilCo for a coconut processing facility.

It added the company targets to start the construction in October this year, with commercial operations to commence between December 2025 and January 2026.

Output of the factory will be exported to Thailand, Europe, and the United States, PEZA said.

Early this month, the Philippine Information Agency reported that Phividec Industrial Authority Administrator and chief executive officer Joseph Donato Bernedo and PhilCo director Buncha Punyatanakorn signed a lease agreement for a 39,596-square-meter parcel of land within the industrial estate.

Expected to create some 2,500 jobs, the food processing facility is expected to be an additional market for coconut farmers in northern Mindanao and nearby provinces.

The factory will be producing 78,000 tons of ultra-high temperature coconut milk annually and frozen coconut meat.

“The prices of coconut here are reasonable, and there are a lot of suppliers. We already sent our survey team to many places such as Dipolog, Pagadian, Zamboanga del Norte, and Lanao. We contacted some farmers and suppliers already. They just want us to start our factory soon,” Punyatanakorn said. (PNA)