GBPH: plans bakery in Cagayan de Oro

Laguna / PH. (gbph) Gardenia Bakeries Philippines Inc. (GBPH), subsidiary of Singapore-based QAF Limited, is looking at Cagayan de Oro or a suitable bread plant manufacturing location in Northern Mindanao instead of Cebu for its planned expansion in the south. GBPH-president Simplicio Umali Jr. told local newspapers that the Philippines´ biggest breadmaker changed its opinion because of the quality of water supply in Cagayan de Oro compared to that of Cebu. Umali said that the high-salinity content of the Cebu water has made them decide to look at Northern Mindanao, which has a good water quality supply. Gardenia´s plant to expand in Cebu was hatched a few years ago but the company was bogged down by location issues. There was not also a suitable location for a one-hectare environment-sensitive bread plant. At one time, the company was close to locating in an economic zone in Mactan. The new Gardenia plant is expected to cost between 200 to 250 million PHP. The expansion plant is expected to have a daily production capacity of 50’000 loaves to serve the Visayas and Mindanao areas, which are currently served through its main plant in Laguna. Gardenia sees the need to expand in the south because of the increased demand there. The company itself is projecting a 25 percent growth this year while the industry is projecting at least ten percent growth.