DAGUPAN CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) office in Pangasinan has reported a 14-percent increase in the number of new businesses that registered with the agency in 2017, compared to the figure in 2016.
DTI-Pangasinan Director Peter Mangabat said 10,500 single-proprietorship businesses in the province registered with their office last year, higher by 1,300 compared to the 9,200 businesses registered in 2016.
He noted that most of the businesses they listed were engaged in food processing.
“With the geography of the province and the existing traditional industry of agriculture, particularly with anything related to fish, it is given that food processing will be the prominent business here,” said Mangabat.
He added that bulk of the businesses, especially in Dagupan City, are into processing milkfish (bangus), fish sauce (bagoong) manufacturing, and restaurants offering seafood.
Some of the businesses are focused on gifts, decors, and the houseware industry.
Mangabat also noted that bamboo engineering is one of the developing industries in Alaminos City, Bayamang, Mangatarem, and Aguilar, where a 10,000-hectare bamboo nursery was established to cater to the increasing demand.
“Bamboo is used in decors, tables, doors, and as tiles and many other uses, through the bamboo engineering,” he said.
For this year, some 2,100 businesses registered with the DTI in January and 1,550 in February. (Hilda Austria/PNA)
