Cold storage sector to go hot with Duterte’s agri boost – Villar

Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Sen. Cynthia Villar said on Thursday that the cold storage industry would stand to gain significantly from the boost to be given by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to agriculture.

Villar was the keynote speaker during the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines (CCAP) general assembly and training conference attended by hundreds of its leaders and members held in a hotel here from June 9 to 10.

She said the CCAP’s annual event, with its theme “Continuation or Change: Managing Expectations in Political Transition,” has been fitting “as we anticipate and welcome the new administration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.”

In this file photo from 2012, Alfredo Lagman Jr., owner of the ALMA Refrigeration and Cold Storage Inc. leads his employees in the blessing of its environment-friendly facility in Pampanga. At right is then agricultural adviser and now senator-elect Francis Pangilinan. (Photo by Tonette Orejas, INQUIRER CENTRAL LUZON)

Villar, current chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, also acknowledged the vital role the cold chain companies would play in expanding agribusiness under the new presidency.

Speaking to reporters at the sidelines of the gathering, she said: “Along with renewed support for agriculture to boost its growth and development, it is good to know that CCAP is steadfast in its mission to promote and upgrade operating practices and standards in the cold chain industry.”

She added the concerted efforts of agriculture and cold chain would surely result in more business and economic gains.  SFM/rga