September 1 - 15 , 2016 PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY BUSINESS NEWS B5
Steveston Pizza of Canada expanding from Philippines to other Asian markets
The franchise holder in the Philippines for Canadian pizza chain Steveston Pizza is looking to expand in other Southeast Asian countries .
T h e BusinessWorld newspaper in Manila reported that Steveston Pizza Philippines CEO Richard C . Go said the company is aiming to roll out stores in Indonesia , Brunei Darussalam and Singapore .
“ Currently , I am talking to potential local partners in these three Asian countries ,” Go said in a recent roundtable interview .
Steveston Pizza Philippines is the official licensee of Steveston Pizza Canada , which is based in the city of Richmond in British Columbia .
The Philippines may lose its status as the world ’ s major exporter of seaweed product carrageenan as Vietnam increases its support for and yield of the aquamarine resource , Senator Francis Pangilinan said Sunday . He pushed for the creation of the new Cabinet-level Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources ( DFAR ) separate from the Department of Agriculture .
“ Tayo ang number 1 exporter ng carrageenan sa buong mundo . Seaweed ang carrageenan na ginagamit sa mga gamot . Yung mga capsules , gawa sa seaweed . Pero bumababa na
The original Steveston Pizza in Vancouver was started by Nader Hatami , a former top sous chef for Holland America Cruise Lines .
Go said there are no immediate plans to expand to the provinces . At present , there are three Steveston Pizza branches in Metro Manila .
Go , a Filipino-Canadian-Chinese , opened the first Steveston branch in Tomas Morato , Quezon City on April 26 , 2013 to introduce Canadian artisan pizza products to Filipinos .
“ I knew that it was good enough . It has given the company a great headstart ,” he said in the BusinessWorld report .
From Tomas Morato , the restaurant transferred to UP
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Town Center , where it has remained among the top five performing stores since it opened .
In July , Go opened the second outlet at the Corinthian Gardens Clubhouse in Mandaluyong City , after he conducted market surveys and feasibility study for the spot .
“ We ran our numbers and we see that it is actually the right product for the right market . It hit the bullseye . There are adequate customers ,” he said .
Customs fails to meet collection target in August
This year ’ s revenue target was revised anew , but the Bureau of Customs ( BOC ) still posted a deficit .
The BOC , the government ’ s second biggest revenuegenerating agency , missed the mark for August collections , with a revenue shortfall of P1.7 billion after it collected P32.7 billion as against its revised target of P34.3 billion .
An initial collection report , a copy of which was obtained by Manila Bulletin , showed that BOC ’ s deficit was P8.2 billion if its original revenue goal was not lowered from P40.9 billion .
The actual data said the Port of Manila registered the highest deficit among the BOC ports for its collections of P5.2 billion , which way below its revenue goal of P7.2 billion .
POM ’ s deviation in August was P2 billion or P27.7 percent .
Other Metro Manila ports — Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Manila International Container Port — were not able to meet their respective targets .
NAIA fell short to reach its P3.6-billion goal after it collected P2.8 billion , short by P870.2 million while MICP had a deficit of P1.6 billion for its collections of P10.2 billion vis-à-vis P11.8-billion target .
The Port of Batangas posted a collection shortfall of
P1.3 billion , with its actual revenues amounting to P7.4 billion . Limay Port was short of P1.2 billion based on its target of P2.9 billion .
Last month ’ s deficit has further widened BOC ’ s overall revenue gap to P68.5 billion as the total collections reached P253.7 billion during the first eight months of the year , way below its P322.2-billion goal .
All of these were cash collections from the ports and included the tax expenditure fund ( TEF ), or the paper revenues that amounted to P203.3 million from the importation of the government agencies .
The BOC referred to August as “ ghost ” month and businesses are believed to be traditionally slow .
In a collection report , the Department of Finance-attached agency disclosed that the other ports that incurred shortfalls during the period were as follow : San Fernando , P99.1 million ; Cebu , P190.8 million ; Tacloban , P19.2 million ; Surigao , P1.1 million ; Cagayan De Oro , P232.2 million ; Zamboanga , P7.6 million ; Davao , P108.9 million , and Aparri , P44.4 million .
Four ports , on the other hand , were able to exceed their respective targets last month . These were Legazpi , Iloilo , Subic , and Clark .
BOC announced that the Development Budget and
PH may lose status as top seaweed product exporter
ang ating market share dahil ang Vietnam mas maganda ang suporta sa industriya , at siyempre mas maganda na ang output ( We are the number 1 exporter of carrageenan in the entire planet . Carrageenan is a seaweed . It ’ s used for pharmaceuticals . The capsules are made from seaweed . But our market share is now lower because Vietnam provides better support and therefore produces better yields ),” he said .
Pangilinan , who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food , is set to conduct the first hearing on separate measures seeking to create DFAR on Thursday , September 15 .
The former Presidential Adviser on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization noted the skewed focus and budget toward land resources at the expense of aquatic resources .
“ Apat sa lima ng ating teritoryo ay aquamarine , isa sa lima lang ang lupa , pero sa budget ng Department of Agriculture , baligtad ang ratio : 90 porsyento ang para sa lupa at 10 porsyento lang para sa aquamarine ( Four-fifths of our territory is aquamarine , only one-fifth is land , but in the DA budget , the ratio is the other way around : 90 percent is for land and 10 percent only for aquamarine ),” Pangilinan pointed out .
“ Nagagawa naman ng DA ang mandato niya para sa aquamarine at mga mangingisda pero limitado . Dapat iwasto ito at magkaroon ng isang highlevel na government agency na tututok dito ( The DA is able to fulfill its mandate for aquamarine and fisher folk but in a limited sense . We should correct this by creating a high-level government agency that will focus on this ),” he added .
Go said he expects the performance of the third branch , located at Circuit Makati , to improve as Ayala Land continues to develop the area .
“ Now people in the Philippines understand what we ’ re trying to do here . We do pizzas in such a manner that we are trying to tell people that ‘ this is the right way to do pizzas .’ We kind of elevate pizza making to a new level ,” said Go in the Business- World report .
Coordination Committee ( DBCC ) has lowered its target for the year from P498.7 billion to P409 billion , with P402.5 billion as cash component .
“ The target recalculation comes after continuous decline in oil prices and level of imports in the recent months ,” a statement from BOC said .
The agency said the new target is 17.6 percent lower than the original cash collection target of P488.7 billion .
“ The recomputed cash collection target remains higher by 12.6 percent compared to the 2015 actual cash collection of P357.4 billion ,” it said .( R . Antonio , MB )
Government and industry experts say about 70 percent of the world demand for carrageenan is for food purposes .
According to the Department of Trade and Industry , the Philippines is among the world ’ s biggest exporters of carrageenan , an input in meat processing , processed food , dairy products , condiments , personal care products , and pet food products . The country is so well-known as a leading producer of this seaweed derivative that the international market recognizes “ Philippinegrade ” carrageenan as reliable . ( interaksyon )