The Southeast Asian Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) published a monograph series under the project "Financial Viability and Profitability Analysis of Agricultural Technologies and Enterprises" commissioned by the Philippine Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR). The monograph series gives information and analyzes the profitability and financial viability of selected products and technologies funded and promoted by DA-BAR. The project also aimed to stress the importance of conducting thorough research and analysis to attract potential adopters and investors in developing products and technologies. A volume in the monograph series discusses the technology and investment profile of batuan (Garcinia morella) products.
The batuan technologies featured in the monograph series were developed by Mr. Peter Sobrevega, Ms. Corazon Arroyo, Elizabeth Amit, and Ms. Nora Garpa of the West Visayas Agricultural Research Center in Ilolilo City, Iloilo under the project "Production and Technology Promotion of Batuan in Region 6."
The authors characterized the commodity batuan as a "lesser-known and indigenous species in the Philippines. It is common and widely distributed in primary forests at low and medium altitudes throughout Luzon and the Visayas Region, particularly, in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental."
They also emphasized that "the batuan fruit has potential uses in many food products aside from its traditional use as a souring agent in many local dishes." These products include batuan jelly, jam, pastillas de batuan, pickles, powder, sinigang mix, and dried batuan halves.
The authors also discussed how the batuan products are being used by famous local chefs to appeal to the market and to further promote the product. Through several efforts, the batuan products has been gaining more attention. Though relatively new to the market, the batuan products has been gaining increasing number of technology adopters and consumers. This has led to the to the development of the technology and investment profile for the batuan products.
The monograph showed how a financial analysis was done for each batuan product guided by a set assumption. In general, all the products were financially viable, indicating that it is a feasible investment.
For a more detailed discussion on the technology of batuan products and its financial analysis, the monograph titled "Technology and Investment Profile of Batuan Products" may be downloaded for free from the SEARCA website at https://www.searca.org/pubs/monographs?pid=476.