MPIC Expands Its Dairy Business

Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), the country’s leading infrastructure investments company, is expanding its agribusiness footprint with a partnership agreement it forged with an Israeli company to expand its dairy farm business.

Photo Insert: MPIC through its subsidiary MPAV, represented by its Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan (center), signed an investment agreement with the LR Group of Israel, represented by its Co-Founder and CEO Ami Lustig (left), with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Israel to the Republic of the Philippines His Excellency Ilan Fluss (right).

MPIC’s foray into the agribusiness industry is part of its thrust to help in the government’s food security program which started with the acquisition of a 51 percent interest in Carmen’s Best Group through the latter’s The Laguna Creamery, Inc.

Tapped for the dairy expansion move was LR Group of Israel where MPIC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Metro Pacific Agro Ventures, Inc. (MPAV) made the engagement.

“Our investment in agriculture is synonymous with food security and substantial independence but will ultimately become a means of alleviating hunger in our country – a pressing issue that we have taken as a challenge to address,” said MPIC Chairman, President, and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

“Our goal is and always will be to feed our people first,” he added.

Early this year, MPIC began its foray into the dairy industry by partnering with Carmen’s Best Group to further develop and expand operations of its dairy farm and dairy products manufacturing facilities.

MPIC seeking to ramp up investments in the agricultural sector and reduce the country’s dependence on food imports amid ongoing global supply chain disruptions and high inflation, the transaction presents a significant growth opportunity for the Philippines, as well, given that the country currently imports 99% of its annual dairy requirements.

Founded in 1985, LR Group operates worldwide in the financing, managing, developing, producing, and sustaining of medium and large-scale national projects in high-growth economies all over the world.

The company and its affiliates have completed hundreds of sustainable projects in Africa, Europe, Oceania, and South America in agriculture and the agro-industry, housing and construction, renewable energy, water treatment, and communication,

Likewise, through the support of Israeli Ambassador, His Excellency Ilan Fluss, the LR Group became an instrumental piece in the deal between MPIC and Carmen’s Best, serving as technical advisors.

This partnership will break ground on the construction of a farm facility in Bay, Laguna, where the target is to produce at least 6 million liters of milk annually, construction of the facility set to start in 2023 and estimated completion approximately two years. Based on the timeline, operations should commence by late 2025 to early 2026.

“We share the same values with MPIC and MPAV in terms of maximizing what their country has to offer primarily in land, natural resources, and skills, and in turn, helping their local communities thrive,” said LR Group Co-Founder and CEO Ami Lustig.

The venture in agribusiness affirms MPIC’s resolve to be the largest catalyst for a Sustainable Philippines - to contribute to national progress and help improve the lives of Filipinos.

It is also aligned with the company’s efforts to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), particularly Goal 2: to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

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