4 weeks ago
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TARLAC 2nd District Rep. Christian Yap has vowed to support the Anao town's ylang-ylang industry that's already gaining headway in the global market.
In one of his visits in the town, Yap noted ylang-ylang's benefits for the people of Anao and the rest of Tarlac province, not only for the scent it offers to motorists along the road but for the livelihood that brings economic gains.
"Anao town is known not only for the scent of ylang-ylang, but also for the livelihood it provides to the townspeople," noted Yap.
"From flowers to oil processing and other products derived from ylang-ylang, there are livelihood opportunities for our countrymen. Let us then support the local and take pride of Anao's ylang-ylang," added Yap.
In recent years, the municipal government of Anao has sought a possible global market for its ylang-ylang industry, a challenge it sees potential-ly viable in the future.
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Anao has also planned to put machines in remote villages as satellite extractors to immediately process the flowers right after picking them as ylang-ylang flowers are quick to wilt.
Anao's vision is to produce ylang-ylang essential oil for the world by export after receiving inquiries from abroad. But the demands were huge then.
In 2017, the town had two machines, each capable of extracting oil from 50 kilos of ylang-ylang flowers. Three smaller extractors from the Ko-rean Intellectual Property Office in South Korea were delivered to the town to improve its capacity.
Extraction is at its peak when ylang-ylang flowers are in season from March to May.
The Anao government buys flowers from residents at P60 a kilo. An ylang-ylang tree produces an average of 3 kilos of flowers a week. During peak months, extraction is done three times a week, with the rest of the week designated as buying days.
Anao, an agricultural town in the eastern boundary of the province, has been producing and selling essential oil extracted from ylang-ylang flowers since 1994. The oil is used in the manufacture of perfumes, bath soap, lotion and shampoo.
The town used to produce 36 liters of the oil a year back then and hoped to double the production with an upgrade of extractors.
Among the challenges the industry met were the construction of Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) that affected a volume of trees to give way for the project, thereby losing about 30 percent of the 10,000 fully grown ylang-ylang trees before.
Specifically, TPLEx hit the town's 1.7-hectare ylang-ylang mini-forest in Barangay San Francisco West.
In terms of business, the Department of Trade and Industry helps upgrade the labeling and the promotion of the products.
The town government then decided to use the essential oil in producing its own brand of perfume called "Aroma Anao," which is sold in the town's display center, municipal government offices and in trade fairs in Central Luzon region.
