Coconut Products

Inasmuch as the Philippines is the world's largest producer and exporter of copra, unquestionably many end products could be processed locally to a far greater extent than currently if further development of the market were merited. The principal food items produced are edible coconut oil, shortening, margarine, and desiccated coconut. However, these are overshadowed by the large output of inedible coconut oil and copra products.

Major producers of shortening, margarine, and edible oil, as well as the inedible oil, are the Philippine Manufacturing Co. (Procter and Gamble), Philippine Refining Co. (Lever Brothers), and Colgate-Palmolive (Philippines), Inc. Most of the desiccated coconut is produced by American concerns, principally Franklin Baker Co. of the Philippines (a subsidiary of General Foods) and Peter Paul Co.

Recent annual production is estimated at between 20,000 and 25,000 metric tons of shortening and 2,000 to 2,500 tons of margarine. An increase of about 20 percent is believed possible with present facilities. Edible oil production was reported as 14,000 tons in 1953 and desiccated coconut production, according to Bureau of the Census data, was about 48,000 tons in that year. Edible oil is used locally in the manufacture of shortening and margarine and these end products are used domestically. Virtually the entire Philippine production of desiccated coconut, however, is exported to the United States; total exports in 1953 amounted to about 49,500 metric tons of which 49,300 tons were shipped to the United States.

In the summer of 1954 the Philippine Manufacturing Co. announced the opening of a new plant to produce hydrogenated oil (from vegetable oils) for use in the manufacture of margarine and shortening. The new industry requires hydrogen gas, which is being produced by the Superior Gas and Electric Co. as a byproduct of caustic soda manufacture.

Canning and Other Food Processing

The Philippines is a large importer of canned milk, meat, and fish and takes smaller quantities of vegetables and fruits. Since World War II the value of such imports has averaged about 80 million pesos annually. Despite this demonstrated demand for canned goods and the availability of locally produced perishable food products there has been little development of domestic canning. Most of the Philippine output is that of one company which produces for export.

Some 37 canning establishments were reported in the census of 1948, but other than one large plant all have very small capacities. Current data as to the number and operation are not available, but most of those operating are small-scale canners of meat products, fish, or vegetable and fruit preparations. A few produce native-type meat products and native salted fish and fish sauces. Many of the firms operate only intermittently.

The sole major cannery is that operated by the Philippine Packing Corp., a subsidiary of the California Packing Co., which in recent years has canned pineapple products valued at about 20 million pesos annually for export. The company operates the cannery in conjunction with its pineapple plantations.

In prewar years several other canning ventures of some scale were undertaken, but most of these projects were given up either before the war or because of wartime destruction of facilities. These included the semicommercial fish-canning plant of the then Division of Fisheries at Estancion, Iloilo, the Zamboanga cannery, which produced 2,000 to 3,000 cases of tuna a day, the Guagu (Pampanga) cannery, which had a capacity of more than 5 tons of bangos a day, and a sardine-canning plant on the island of

Bantayan, Cebu, as well as several plants engaged in fruit canning.

The Philippine Government has shown considerable interest in increasing the canning of foods and a few private companies have investigated the possibilities, primarily the canning of fish. At the end of 1954 plans for a large fish cannery were reported. However, in the face of competition from imported canned goods and such difficulties as a lack of steady supply of raw materials, unsatisfactory marketing, and financing problems, there has been very limited entry into this field.

Little information is available on other kinds of food processing, but two recent developments may suggest possibilities for future expansion in the field. In 1953-54 a cornstarch plant and a yeast plant were placed in operation. The million-peso plant of the Philippine Corn Products Co. is the first cornstarch plant in the country and the yeast plant of the San Miguel Brewery, with a capacity of 60,000 pounds per month, is expected to provide all domestic requirements of the baking industry and household needs for active dry yeast.

Dairy Products

Most of the country's dairy requirements are supplied by imports-domestic milk output in 1952 was roughly estimated at only 10,000 metric tons compared with imports of about 40,000 tons of dairy products. The carabao, in common use as a draft animal, is a poor milk producer but, being available, provides about 80 percent of the milk output. There is some interest in expanding the dairy industry by introducing cattle herds.

As of 1952 five commercial dairies operated in Manila but none produced more than 200 gallons per day. Most of the dairies have fairly good refrigeration and sanitation facilities. One firm was engaged in the reconstitution of milk which was used largely in the manufacture of ice cream products. Manila's milk supply is not only insignificant in quantity, but also relatively high priced.

Production of butter and cheese is negligible and neither is widely consumed. Domestically produced margarine is a substitute for butter, being cheaper and more readily available. In the country districts a cheese called "queso" is produced from carabao milk.

Ice cream products have gained considerable popularity, particularly in Manila. In 1953 output of ice cream and ices was valued at 4.6 million pesos.

Beverages

The Philippine beverage industry consists of the production of fermented liquor (largely beer) and soft drinks. Output has increased greatly since World War II in line with demand; consumption was estimated several years ago at about 10 times the prewar level.

Production of beer amounted to 139 million bottles in 1953, valued at more than 43 million pesos. San Miguel Brewery, Inc., is now the only brewery since buying out the other brewery which has operated in recent years. Production of distilled spirits, wines, and liquors was valued at about 15 million pesos.

Soft drinks, produced by some 18 companies in more than a hundred plants, represents a highly competitive field. Most of the popular American brands are bottled locally. In 1952, 950 million bottles were produced and in 1953 production exceeded a billion bottles valued at 75 million pesos.

San Miguel Brewery, Inc., which produces beer and, through its various subsidiaries, American soft drinks, ginger ale, and ginger beer, operates also in nonbeverage fields and is one of the largest of Philippine industrial enterprises.

TOBACCO MANUFACTURES

More than 100 cigar and cigarette factories were reported in operation in the Philippines in 1950 and, of these, a large number had entered the field after strict controls were placed on imported cigarettes in 1949. The output of the Philippine cigarette industry has increased greatly in the last few years. Production, which amounted to about 2 billion units in 1949, increased to 9 billion in 1951 and to 13.3 billion in 1953.

Imports of cigarettes dropped from more than 8 billion units valued at 33.1 million pesos in 1949 to 882 million valued at 3.6 million pesos in 1952. However, leaf tobacco imports for the local industry (mostly Virginia flue-cured tobacco) greatly increased, going from 360 metric tons valued at 564,000 pesos to 14,800 tons valued at 28.4 million pesos.

Production of cigars in the Philippines in the last few years has averaged about 90 million units, or less than one-third the number in prewar years. Whereas cigarette manufacture is now largely mechanized, the large bulk of the cigar output is still made by hand. Exports, chiefly to the United States, declined from an average of 200 million annually in 1937-39 to an average of about 3 million in 1951-52.

In order to counteract the effects of import and exchange restrictions, major American and British tobacco companies have been investigating the possibilities of establishing factories in the Philippines. The domestic production of Virginia-type leaf tobacco which has developed in the postwar years is also a factor in the increased manufacture of cigarettes within the country.

TEXTILES AND WEARING APPAREL

Textiles and manufactures constitute the leading group of Philippine imports, accounting for about 18 percent of total imports in recent years. The country is producing increasing quantities of cotton goods and wearing ap parel, however, and there has been some interest in rayon manufacture.

The Philippine infant cotton textile industry at present supplies only a small part of the country's requirements— variously estimated at 10, 15, and 20 percent of domestic consumption.2 As of 1953 two mills produced cotton yarn, and one of these also produced cotton cloth. Both are owned by the National Development Company (NDC), a Government-controlled corporation. The larger mill, in Manila, had a reported capacity of about 10,000 pounds of yarn a day and the other mill, in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, produced only 650 pounds of yarn per day. A third mill was reported to be planned for Cebu but has not been established.

The 1952 yarn output of the operating factories, according to data furnished by the National Development Company to the Philippine Bureau of the Census, was about 769,000 pounds. The yarn produced is primarily weaving yarn, most of which is woven into cloth in the weaving plant of the NDC textile mill in Manila. The remaining yarn is distributed to small-scale weavers and knitting mills. Production of cotton piece goods (grey cloth and finished cloth) by the NDC Manila plant was reported as about 8,114,000 yards in 1952. Costs of production in the two NDC cotton mills are reportedly high and the quality of the yarn relatively poor.

As of early 1954 several firms, American and Filipino, were known to be contemplating the establishment of

These differences in percentage appear to be at least partly due to definition. If knit goods are included the percentage is higher than if only woven cloth is considered.

Production data of the NDC vary considerably. The same source is reported to have given 1952 production of yarn as 645,000 pounds and as 924.000 pounds. Production of piece goods for 1952 has also been reported at both 6,400,000 yards and more than 12,000,000 yards. The varying data available for 1953 seem to indicate a decline in yarn production and an increase in the output of piece goods from 1952 levels.

cotton spinning mills; one of these expected to get operations under way by the end of the year or early 1955.

As of 1953 there were 11 to 13 Philippine knitting mills, all established within the last 5 years. The reported investment for 12 of these mills was more than 4,000,000 pesos in fixed assets and about 4,780,000 pesos in operating capital. Production in 1952 (11 plants) was about 2,300 metric tons of knitted fabrics valued at 17,250,000 pesos. The present capacity, however, is larger than this output. Several of the mills which were established in early 1952 were still on trial operations and, in addition, shortages in yarn, reportedly due to insufficient import allocations, prevented plants from operating fully even on a single-shift basis. At full capacity run on three shifts the present mills could, reportedly, satisfy the country's requirements.

Domestic production of wearing apparel, especially knit goods, has increased in recent years. As of late 1952, there were five knitting mills producing socks, T-shirts, undershirts, and other knitted wear. The annual output of these mills, estimated at about 4 million pounds of knitted wear, is reported to meet about one-fourth of the Philippine demand. There are about six large shirt and pants factories as well as large numbers of small shops producing men's, women's and children's wear of most types. Handkerchiefs are also made. It is reported that, if sufficient piece goods and remnants were available, local establishments could supply all ordinary Philippine requirements for clothing.

Twenty Manila firms, 16 of which are American-owned, import cotton goods for embroidering in the Philippines and subsequent reexport to the United States. Such embroideries earn $5 million to $6 million for the Philippines each year (see section on cottage industries).

In mid-1951 there was considerable discussion about the establishment of a plant to manufacture rayon staple fiber from sugar bagasse. This particular plan did not materialize, but in view of continued interest in using bagasse for the development of the local textile industry such a project is a future possibility.

The Government has encouraged the textile industry in several ways. In addition to establishing mills, it has used import control measures and has served as an important customer for the products of the mills. Some textile industries, especially knitting mills, have been granted tax exemption as "new and necessary" industries. Textile and related manufacturing are among the industries which the Philippine Government wishes to encourage and additional assistance may be expected in the future.

One type of venture which the Government has shown considerable interest in attracting is a ramie fiber spinning mill, since the raw material used by such mill is domestically produced whereas cotton must be imported.

In spite of Government encouragement of textile manufacturing, businessmen who have shown interest in entering this field have hesitated not only because of the various deterrents affecting investment in general but, reportedly, primarily because of the heavy Government participation in some parts of the field and the variable regulations relating to imports of raw materials and machinery.

CORDAGE AND INDUSTRIAL FIBERS

Cordage

Annual production of rope and cordage was estimated in 1952 at about 18 million pounds and output could be greatly increased with the facilities then in existence.

Imports of weaving yarns and grey cloths were banned in 1952. 5 Various Government agencies, including the Armed Forces, are required to purchase their textile requirements from the NDC. There have been several attempts to grow cotton in quantity in the Philippines to provide the basic raw material for the cotton industry, but to date these have not been successful.

The production is predominantly manila rope and cordage although some is maguey twine. In addition to supplying domestic requirements, about 9 to 12 million pounds have been available for export in recent years. Exports in 1952 were slightly more than 10 million pounds and in 1953, about 8.7 million. The 6-million-pound cordage quota for the United States provided for in the Philippine trade agreement was filled in 1951 when demand was high because of the war in Korea, but has not been filled in other postwar years.

Two companies have accounted for the production since the war-Manila Cordage Co., a subsidiary of the American Tubbs Cordage Co., and Elizalde y Cia. In addition to the commercial manufacture of rope and twine by the factories, there is a significant production of hand-lay rope and twine.

Fiber Bags

The statement that "the Philippine economy moves in a bag" is substantiated by the annual consumption figure of 60 million jute bags. Annual replacement requirements, about 45 million bags,' are broken down as follows: Rice bags, 18 million; sugar bags, 16 million; copra bags, 6 million; copra meal bags, 3 million; bags for fertilizer, root crops, corn, tobacco, and other crops, 2 million. Imports in 1952 were more than 11 million jute bags valued at 9.3 million pesos, and, in addition, burlaps and baggings valued at 2.8 million pesos were purchased abroad.

Five mills were reported to be operating in 1952, using primarily imported jute but also some kenaf, a local fiber. These factories, operating one shift per day, produce almost half of the country's requirements for fiber bags. The combined capacity output of the 800 looms of these plants on additional shifts per day could meet existing Philippine needs; production in 1952 with one shift was reported at about 9.4 million bags.

The producing companies are the Philippine Fiber Processing Co., the Industrial Textile Manufacturing Co. of the Philippines (ITEMCOP), and the Industrial Co., Inc. The first has four plants-three units in Negros close to the large sugar centrals and one in Manila. Annual combined capacity of the four plants, on two 8-hour shifts, is approximately 20 million bags. In 1951 when the ITEMCOP plant, a Soriano y Compania interest, was opened the management estimated that the plant would be capable of producing 16.8 million sugar bags or 22 million rice sacks annually. The Industrial Co., Inc., started operations late in 1952. The looms and spindles of the three companies are of Italian or British origin installed under technical supervision of Italian or British experts.

Attempts are being made to increase the domestic production of fibers for bag manufacture. In addition to kenaf, which is now being used in small quantities, such local fibers as maguey, saluyot (domestically grown jute), and pineapple and banana fibers are being encouraged. As of 1953, in connection with the United States technical assistance, a pilot mill was being considered for experimenting with pineapple and banana fibers in the manufacture of industrial textiles and bagging.

WOOD MANUFACTURES

In addition to lumber, an important Philippine product, the principal manufactures from forest products are plywood, furniture made of rattan and wood, and such items as wooden shoes, cigar boxes, picture frames, matches, and toys. The beginning of a fiberboard and a veneer industry appears to be in sight. Plywood and rattan furniture are Philippine exports whereas the other products are almost entirely for domestic consumption.

7 Consumption figures are considerably higher than replacement figures owing to the fact that some bags are used more than once. Sawmilling operations, considered in this report as part of forestry, are discussed in chapter V.

Plywood

According to the Philippine Bureau of Forestry, production of plywood increased from 426,000 square feet in fiscal year 1946-47 to 38,233,000 square feet in 1951-52. As of 1953 there were 6 factories operated by 5 companies (Santa Clara Lumber Co.; International Hardwood and Veneer; Woodworks Inc.; Philippine Plywood Corp.; and Philippine Industries, Inc.) with a total daily capacity reported at about 215,000 square feet. Two additional plants were in prospect.

Much of the present machinery is old and, if replaced, the quality of output could undoubtedly be improved and costs lowered, and the Philippines could become an exporter of significance. Exports amounted to 465,000 square feet in 1951 and 242,000 square feet in 1952.

Furniture

Rattan furniture is produced in considerable quantity for export as well as for local use, and wooden furniture is produced for domestic consumption. The output of rattan has greatly increased in recent years, and the Philippines has not only exported poles for furniture production and other uses abroad, but also "knocked down” furniture. In 1952 rattan furniture exports were valued at about 1.5 million pesos.

Wooden furniture, the output of which was reported at a value of 3,700,000 pesos in 1953, is made largely in small shops from native woods. Production is generally contracted for and sold on the basis of special order and design although some Manila firms follow established lines of manufacture. There are about 450 establishments, most of which are concentrated in Manila.

Prior to import controls wooden furniture was an important import item-in 1948 imports amounted to more than 3 million pesos. However, in recent years, with the increase in domestic production, the value of wooden furniture imports has been reduced to 200,000 pesos or less annually.

Pressed Fiberboard

Large quantities of wood waste accumulate in the forest, at sawmills, which could be used for various types of pressed fiberboard. One of the larger lumber firms, Nasipit Lumber Co., was reported recently to have planned the construction of a wallboard plant adjoining its concession in Nasipit, Mindanao. The project, which reportedly hinged largely on obtaining financial assistance, was plannned to produce 27 million square feet of wallboard annually or about 40 percent of present local consumption.

Wooden Shoes

The "bakaya," a wooden shoe with the sole and heel in one piece and held on the foot by a wide plastic band, is widely worn in the Philippines. The volume of wood used in making these wooden shoe clogs is substantial and their manufacture is carried on in small shops in many processing centers. Local capital is used almost entirely in such manufacture.

PULP, PAPER, AND PAPER PRODUCTS

In spite of the fact that for a number of years studies have been made looking into the possibility of developing the pulp and paper industry, the Philippines is still heavily dependent on imports of paper and paper products. In

1952 imports in this category were valued at 39 million pesos and, in 1953, at 37 million.

Woodpulp and newsprint are not produced in commercial quantities. The Andres Soriano interests have successfully experimented with the production of pulp and newsprint from hardwoods (lauan woods), supplemented with small quantities of abaca fiber, and have announced plans for a large-scale integrated sawmill and paper mill. However, this project has not been started and it may have been abandoned. A plan was formulated in 1953 for the construction of a pulp and paper mill by the Philippine Government, but this development has not been carried out.

The best raw material for pulp and paper manufacture is yet to be determined. Whereas most businessmen have looked to hardwoods, especially lauans which constitute a large part of the Philippine forest resource, a Norwegian expert serving as a United Nations technical adviser recently recommended the establishment of six paper mills which would chiefly process softwoods, particularly Benguet pine.

The consumption of paper and paper products has risen in recent years and is expected to continue its upward trend. Consumption in 1951 was calculated at about 90,000 tons (4.5 kilograms per capita). According to a recent estimate consumption may reach 200,000 tons by 1962.

Paper manufacture is limited but production has increased in recent years and some products, e. g., cardboard boxes and corrugated boxes, are produced in quantities sufficient to meet domestic requirements. Production of paper in 1953 totaled 5,076 tons of writing paper and 73 tons of kraft paper. Paperboard output amounted to 3,911 metric tons and fiber building board production was 10,728 pieces. Converted paper products consisted of 6,305 tons of cardboard and corrugated paperboard plus other products valued at about 4,600,000 pesos (paper bags, cardboard boxes, fiber building boards, etc.).

Only one firm manufactures writing paper, the Compania de Celulosa de Filipinas, which has been operating since 1949 using sugarcane bagasse as the raw material. A tissue paper mill, using scrap paper as the raw material, was erected by the International Hardwood and Veneer Co. in 1953, and was reported ready to begin production on a commercial scale in September 1954. The University of the Philippines also installed a tissue paper mill in 1953 but production until June 1954 was confined to experimentation. The Philippine Paper Mills operates a chipboard plant using local scrap paper and imported newsprint.

The Cebu Portland Cement Company, a Government corporation, has a mill for the manufacture of paper cement bags which has a capacity of 15 to 20 tons of bags per day. However, except for having produced kraft paper for a few months in late 1953 and early 1954, this plant, which is considered uneconomic, has not operated for several years. A number of firms make corrugated cardboard cartons; the major producer is the San Miguel Brewery, Inc.

At the end of 1953 the Philippine Bureau of the Census and Statistics recorded some 32 paper and paper product establishments. About a dozen additional establishments, mostly manufacturers of converted paper products, are reported to have started operations in 1954.

LEATHER PRODUCTS

The Philippines has a growing leather industry, but imports of leather and leather products are still sizable; they amounted to 13.2 million pesos in 1951 and 8.5 million pesos in 1952.

It is estimated that there are about 150 leather-manufacturing establishments, most of which are small tanneries whose combined production is less than a third of the country's total. The major portion of Philippine leather comes from two large tanneries, located near Ma

nila, which use machine methods. These two tanneries make both sole and upper leather, whereas the small tanners confine themselves to the manufacture of sole leather. The leather industry is in the hands of Filipinos, except for a few operators who are Chinese. Vicente Hermoso and his nephews, who trade as Hermoso Hermanos, run the two large tanneries.

Production in 1952 was reported as 645,000 square feet of upper leather, 33,000 kilograms of sole leather, and 137,000 kilograms of miscellaneous grades, and productive capacity has been substantially increased since then.

Cowhides and carabao hides constitute the major raw materials used. During World War II the numbers of cattle and carabaos were badly depleted and the supply has not reached prewar levels. Improvement in hide collection and preparation is among the problems that must be solved if there is to be further expansion of the industry. A ban on the slaughter of carabaos imposed in early 1954 has materially affected the local supply of hides, and tanners consequently have turned to imports for a portion of their requirements.

Although virtually all the locally produced and imported leather is consumed by the shoe industry, which had a yearly production of about 4 million pairs of all types of shoes (including rubber-soled canvas shoes) in 1951 and has probably increased since that time, imports of leather shoes were valued at more than a million pesos in 1952.

RUBBER AND RUBBER MANUFACTURES

The major rubber product of the Philippines at present is the rubber-soled canvas shoe, manufactured by seven Filipino and Chinese-owned companies in Manila and Cebu. The present output almost reaches the present requirements and the available capacity more than meets local requirements. Rubber boots are also produced in quantities to make the Philippines nearly self-sufficient and such articles as tubing, gloves, and hot-water bags are partially supplied by domestic manufacture.

Recent years have seen the start of production of tires and tubes. As of 1950 there was no production of automobile tires although there were several retreading operations. In 1951, however, three of the leading rubber shoe manufacturers, Marcelo Tire and Rubber Co., Jacinto Rubber and Plastics Co., and El Porvenir Rubber Products, Inc., made plans to go into production of these items.

The company with the most ambitious program, however, on a three-shift basis reportedly had a useful mold capacity of only 97 tires per day in 1952. No information is available regarding the production by the other manufacturers, but one planned to make 50 auto tires a day. Large-scale production has not yet been possible.

Several large American tire-manufacturing firms which distribute in the Philippines have reportedly considered establishing tire factories, but none have established plants. In 1952 the United States supplied almost 95 percent of the 25,800,000 million pesos of Philippine imports of rubber tires and tubes.

PETROLEUM PRODUCTS

The Philippines has been importing its requirements of petroleum and petroleum products; these imports were valued at 76,700,000 pesos in 1951 and 80,200,000 pesos in 1952. Domestic production of refined products is now beginning, with the opening of a refinery in 1954. There are good possibilities that petroleum resources may exist in the Philippines, but no commercial deposits have as yet been discovered. Exploration to date has been limited, however, the recent search for oil being largely confined to drilling activities by the Philippine Oil Development Co. Caltex (Philippines), Inc., has finished the construction of a refinery on Bantangas Bay, south of Manila, which is the Philippines' first oil-processing plant. At

the end of 1954 the plant was operating at its rated capacity of 13,000 barrels per day of crude oil for the production of motor gasoline, illuminating kerosene, diesel oil, and fuel oil. The refinery is now providing a substantial part of the Philippines' present requirements of petroleum products. Crude oil is being imported, primarily from Indonesia.

Two companies, Refinoil Co. and H. M. Stokes Co., refine lubricating oil. Their combined maximum output was estimated in 1951 at 1,000 gallons of refined lubricant

daily.

CHEMICALS AND RELATED INDUSTRIES

The present Philippine chemical industry is small, but its importance is increasing with the completion of several Government and private projects. Almost all postwar development surveys and programs place considerable emphasis on expanding the chemical industry, and additional projects are under consideration or will soon be in operation.

Present production consists primarily of ammonium sulfate; hydrochloric acid and other chemicals for making pulp; salt, quicklime, alcohol, glycerin, and various industrial gases; paints; and toilet preparations. For a few products local production now meets the country's requirements and with the new plants recently completed or being constructed the Philippines will be selfsufficient in a few other chemicals.

Fertilizers and Basic Chemicals

Until 1953 no chemical fertilizers were produced in the Philippines, but now one fertilizer plant is operating and others are contemplated. Several of these developments are tied in with Government plans for the increased development of hydroelectric power, together with the recognized need for greater use of fertilizer to increase agricultural output.

The National Power Corporation's plant, which was completed in August 1953, has an operating capacity of 50,000 tons of ammonium sulfate annually and is integrated with a 25,000-kilowatt hydroelectric plant in the Maria Cristina area. Another Government fertilizer plant, together with an additional hydroelectric unit, is planned for the same area which will produce 30,000 tons of ammonium nitrate annually. Part of the nitrates from this plant will be used for the manufacture of explosives.

Several private companies are now producing basic chemicals. The Chemical Industries of the Philippines installed a plant near Manila in 1951 with a capacity of 10 tons of commercial sulfuric acid per day, but did not begin operation until recently.

The Superior Gas and Equipment Co. produces products using largely domestic raw materials in its plant which began operations in 1952. At the time of opening, the planned output of caustic soda was estimated at 10 tons daily on a 24-hour basis (which was to supply about onethird of the domestic demand); chlorine, 5 tons daily (somewhat more than domestic demand); hypochlorite, 10 tons daily (all of domestic demand); and muriatic acid, one-half ton daily (all domestic needs).

As of 1952 the Philippine Industrial Chemicals (F. E. Zuellig and Co.) had plans for the erection of a large superphosphate plant in Iloilo, under arrangements with the Chemical Construction Co., a subsidiary of American Cyanamid Co., and the Pacific Oxygen and Acteylene Co. had a building erected and plans drawn up for a calcium carbide plant.

The Maria Cristina Chemical Industries, Inc., has constructed a calcium carbide and ferroalloy plant in Iligan, inaugurated in November 1954, to take advantage of power from the Government's Maria Cristina hydro

electric project. Large-scale production of solar salt is being carried on by Sycip Enterprises, which had an output of about 2,500 tons in 1952. Other plans for salt production are reportedly being considered, including a Japanese-financed project under the Philippine Salt Development Syndicate which would produce 100,000 tons annually. As a result of these plans considerable increase in salt production is expected and, concomitantly, the development of plants which use salt as a raw material. Several companies produce chemicals in association with their other enterprises. Compania de Celulosa de Filipinas produces caustic soda and chlorine which are used in its pulp and paper plant. In 1951 the San Miguel Brewery erected a soda ash-caustic soda plant adjoining the site of its glass factory in Manila; an output of 25,000 tons of soda ash monthly is reported to be enough to satisfy the requirements of the glass factory, but the plans at the time of opening included expansion to meet the needs of other industrial consumers.

Miscellaneous Chemical Products

Alcohol and glycerin are produced in considerable quantity. Alcohol is used industrially in the Philippines as a motor fuel. In 1952 about 10 million gage liters of motive alcohol and 5 million proof liters of industrial alcohol were produced. Although more than 160 alcohol rectifiers were reported, many were small units, the sugar centrals having the large rectifiers. Sixteen sugar centrals have distilling apparatus for producing high-purity alcohol from molasses. In the prewar period, however, more centrals had such operations and alcohol output was at a higher level.

A number of Filipinos have advocated the expansion of this industry since it would reduce gasoline imports and utilize the molasses produced as a byproduct of the large sugar industry. It was reported that the National Economic Council had considered recommending a law requiring the compulsory use of a motor alcohol blend; such a law would, of course, serve as a real impetus to this industry.

The Philippine Manufacturing Co. was the only producer of glycerin a few years ago. By early 1952, however, the Philippine Refining Co. had begun production and Colgate-Palmolive (Philippines), Inc., was reported to be planning production of refined glycerin for its manufacture of toothpaste. Output of crude glycerin, which was 1,800 tons in 1951, amounted to more than 2,900 in 1953. Exports in 1952 amounted to more than 2,000 tons.

Interest has been shown recently in the manufacture of resins. In 1953 two American companies, Borden Co. of New York and Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., announced that they were considering the manufacture of resins which would be used in local plywood, paint, textile, and plastic industries.

There is some production of paints and varnishes although the domestic requirements have been largely met by imports. Late in 1954 a new paint plant of SherwinWilliams Philippines, Inc., was inaugurated. The factory will produce paints from imported raw materials using Sherwin-Williams patents and formulas.

Recent research has indicated that plastic molding powder of good quality can be prepared from copra meal and there is possibility that this development may result in the manufacture of local plastics. One manufacturer of plastic products, Plastics, Inc., in Manila has gone into the production of cellophane sheets. This firm and two others mold plastic materials into various products.

Insecticide manufacture is confined to derris, tobacco decoction, and locally mixed sprays from imported chemicals. There is no organized manufacturing industry in this field, such manufacture being done only on a small scale for immediate use.

Philippine production of acetylene, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen is reported to meet the country's needs for these industrial gases.