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Bacolod Sugarcane's Industry and Its Massive Business Opportunity with Japanese and Taiwanese Investors

Trying the delicious Okinawa Milk Tea from ITealicious makes me think of the delicious Okinawa brown sugar. I thought about researching Okiwana brown sugar on how it's made. Certain details reveal why the Japanese product is used by certain milk tea establishments around the world.  

The method of making the Japanese brown sugar is described by Dore by LeTao as follows:

Can you guess the origin of this Brown Sugar? Yes of course it is from Okinawa! It is from sugarcane that is grown in Okinawa. Okinawa is famous for their beautiful place, beach, and their longevity. It is well-known that Okinawa’s climate is perfect for sugar cane. With strong southern-island sunlight and minerals delivered by the ocean spray, make Okinawa perfect for growing healthy sugar cane!

Production begins with a healthy sugarcane crop then continues to a slow cooking technique to process the sugar cane juice (this method is referred to as kokuto). This method makes them healthier than the usual brown sugar. Okinawa becomes a premier location for this sugar production in Japan not just because of the technique but because of the specific environmental condition.

The kokuto method of making brown sugar may not be so exclusive to the Japanese after all. Unlike traditional brown sugar where the molasses are re-added--this one uses a slow method that keeps most of the nutrients found in the sugarcane syrup. 

The potential of Bacolod--the sugar capital of the Philippines

One particular place in the Philippines has that potential which is in Bacolod. The Britannica website mentions this special place that might be close to Okinawa in terms of conditions to raise quality sugarcane:

Bacolod, city, northwestern portion of the island of Negros, Philippines. On a coastal plain washed by Guimaras Strait, it lies opposite Guimaras Island and has been called the Philippine sugar capital because of its central location within the nation’s most important sugar-producing area. Bacolod’s growth began after 1800, when it was first used as a convenient gathering point for traffic bound for Iloilo, on the island of Panay. With subsequent development of the sugar plantations, it became Negros’ most populous urban area and a regional trade centre. Its outport, Pulupandan, is situated to the south along the main coastal highway and is an important fishing port.

Bacolod would have more or less the same kind of climate as Okinawa. Okinawa was a humid subtropical climate. Bacolod has a tropical rainforest climate. Though, I think the method of kokuto sugar can still be made. Bacolod is home to many sweets such as Bongbong's Piaya and Merzci due to its abundance of sugar. Much of the sugar I buy are locally made. I think one reason why sugar in Bacolod is really good is because of the ocean mist that adds minerals. The same is said about Okinawa's sugarcane too.

The Tiger Sugar Taiwan franchise, not surprisingly, opened in Bacolod last 2019. The first branch was in Corner 22nd Lacson St. Bacolod City. Bubble tea is something that may have been incorporated into Filipino culture. Filipino culture has been absorbing foreign influence and then Filipinizing it such as how we have siopao with asado or adobo. Halo-halo is a Japanese invention later given a Filipino twist. Milk tea is no different as it becomes part of Filipino culture. I think the business opportunity for Tiger Sugar can be rather huge. Though, hopefully, a Filipino milk tea franchise can soon make its name abroad with its own Filipino unique taste to add to the competition.

It would be good if Japanese investors or Taiwanese investors may take advantage of the fresh sugar cane of Bacolod. I want to think about the mentality of buying local where you go. For example, having gone to Singapore and China, I felt buying local provided value for the trip. It would be nice to try some Singaporean-style food and authentic Chinese food. It would be good to buy the local supply of their raw materials to lessen transportation fees. It would be practical for any investor to buy local as much as possible in the country they're in. Maybe, just maybe, the sugarcane of Bacolod can provide a good ingredient in making kokuto.

It's called the law of substitutes in economics. I remembered how I found Japanese rice too expensive and that Dona Maria (local rice) might make better kimbap at home. Relying on imports from Okinawa can be costly due to shipping fees. Instead, I think Bacolod's sugarcane can either be a supplement or a substitute. Maybe, Japanese manufacturers and Taiwanese milk tea shop owners can take advantage of the sugarcane in Bacolod for their production. The method of making kokuto can still be applied to Bacolod's sugarcane. I don't see any reason why this project wouldn't help the sugar industry in the Philippines. After all, it doesn't matter who buys the sugarcane as long as it's put to good use. Rather than demand to stop imports--farmers should focus on producing competition-worthy sugarcanes that are quality over quantity. 

Meanwhile, it will also mean finding ways to maintain the quality of the sugarcane in Bacolod. Green capitalism seeks to preserve nature as its capital. The continued use of organic farming and the like should be done to maintain the unique taste of sugar products. Okinawa's best brown sugar is done through organic farming. Organic farming should also be promoted and farmers should be taught modernization without compromising nature. Just because we modernize doesn't mean we should ignore the environment. After all, the environment is the most important business capital there is. 

References

"Bacolod" by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

"Do You Know Okinawa Brown Sugar?" by Fenny Haliman (May 22, 2021)

"Milk-tea Fans: Tiger Sugar brings the brown sugar boba craze in Bacolod"

"Understanding Japanese Kokuto, The World’s Healthiest Brown Sugar" by Taylor Morgan (December 9, 2015)
https://gardencollage.com/nourish/farm-to-table/brown-sugar/
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