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BY JUN AGUIRRE
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BORACAY – A Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official believes there must be a port dedicated to bringing agricultural products and local handicrafts from Aklan province to this island resort.
This will enable local farmers and small entrepreneurs to benefit from the booming tourism industry, Acting Provincial Director Carmen Ituralde said.
“Resorts and restaurants in this island require volumes of supplies that a single farmer or even a cooperative could not provide,” said the DTI official.
“Aklan must have a terminal where farmers can drop their produce intended for Boracay,” stressed Ituralde.
Due to the low volume of locally made souvenir items, such products being sold in Boracay were made in Cebu and Davao, among other provinces.
The same is true with agricultural products, Provincial Agriculture Office information officer Ronilo Sallaver said in a separate interview.
“Around 90 percent of food in Boracay, including fish, fruits and rice, come from other provinces,” said Sallaver.
This results in high prices for tourists and residents, the local government official said, citing transportation cost as a factor.
“If local farmers (in Aklan) could reach the needed volume (of produce in Boracay), the prices of commodities in the island could drop,” Sallaver said.
Gov. Florencio Miraflores said the provincial government was already looking for an investor who will finance the “food terminal.”
The Department of Tourism aims to accommodate at least 2 million tourists in the island resort this year./PN
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