Duran does a good run

By Rizalie Anding Calibo

Siquijor Province, March 23 (PIA)--It is a good run indeed for Alejandro “Butch” Duran, the maker of Siquijor’s best banana products.

Starting with a capital outlay of P2,000 in1999 and with a mere 30 kilos of  banana crackers daily production, which he sold locally in the province, Duran’s business is now fast booming reaching nearby provinces in the region.

Duran is now producing an average of 120 kilos, two to three times a week to meet outside orders from Bohol, Dumaguete, and Bacolod.

This gives him an average gross sales of some P288,000 a month, sufficient enough to allow him to expand his business and even put up capital for another line of business aside from his banana products.

From his original (and recently unsweetened) banana crackers, Duran is now selling other tasty banana sticks in garlic and cheese flavors and will soon go into product diversification such as banana brittles and  polvoron.

To keep with the increasing sales and orders, Duran ably hired 10 workers from what used to be a husband-and-wife endeavor.

All these he owed to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Duran claimed. But for DOST Provincial Director Mario de la Peña, the main ingredients for SMEs  to succeed are the positive attitude and their commitment to the project coupled with good linkages with the government sector. These, he confirms, Duran have.

In 2005, Duran was one of the DOST’s SETUP  (Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program) beneficiaries of which a total of P863,000 in project fund was released to all beneficiaries for  equipment acquisition: Vacuum sealer, mechanized banana sticks cutter, banana chips cutter, stainless tables, basins, trays and a digital thermometer, for Duran that upgrade his processing capability.

 Laboratory analysis, shelf-life testing, trainings and consultancy services were also some of the technical assistance he and other beneficiaries enjoyed.

To cite the local DOST has initiated the development of packaging and labeling design of Siquijor products which were showcased in the yearly  Halad Siquijodnon Trade Fair and Exhibits that highlighted the Araw ng Siquijor celebration.

Going beyond Siquijor Island, Duran’s products were exposed to a number of national and international exhibits. He recalled having declined an order from a foreign buyer of 42,000 kilos of banana fritters a month during an International Food Expo in the Mall of Asia inManila. Too small working area, production equipment and supplies of raw materials were just a few of the major constraints, he said.

But this time around, Duran is aiming high. While thanking the DOST and other government line agencies, Duran said he would like to show them that he can penetrate markets abroad.

Now and still with DOST-SETUP, Duran, his wife and his 10 workers are undergoing a series of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP training), an advance training for  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) which is a requirement for BFAD and leading to ISO.

On March 18, few days after the first advanced GMP training, a check of P72,500  is also released exclusively for the packaging following the P59,000 Grant-in-Aide project and P150,000 SET-UP all of DOST.

Duran has made the first, second or third runs and still willing to do more to get to the finish line.(RACalibo/PIA7-Siquijor)