NTC Marketing signs deal to import fruit from Philippines

The Williamsville-based company signed an agreement with the National Development Co.,the Philippines government’s investment arm, during a recent meeting in New York City. Among those attending was President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who was visiting the United States and promoting the Philippines as a place for U. S. businesses to invest. NTC Marketing imports millions of cans of fruit each year. It is the North American licensee of Libby’s, the brand under which the products are sold on store shelves. A processing plant is being built in the Philippines and should be finished by the end of the year, said Michael J. De- Rose, NTC’s chairman. The company will have an ownership stake in the new plant. NTC expects to start importing fruit from there early next year, DeRose said. “They’ve already got the fields planted.” Philippines officials said the country stands to earn some US$500 million over the length of the 35-year agreement. The deal will also benefit about 5,000 farming families in that country, according to government officials. The deal should also be beneficial to NTC, DeRose said. “We think we can source it at a better price in the Philippines than we can in Thailand.” The company imports fruit from Thailand and that relationship will continue, he said, but the Philippines could evolve into NTC’s major source of imported fruit over time.