1. ‘Tuba’ ready to conquer world markets
By Vicente S. Labro
Inquirer Visayas
LEYTE—“Tuba,” the bittersweet traditional wine of the Waray, has leveled up and is ready for export.
A native of Leyte who retired from work in the United States put up a coconut wine production plant in
Marasbaras District in Tacloban City in 2010 and came out with his premium coconut wine called Vino
de Coco.
George VacalParaliza, 67, said he would not spend his life savings if he didn’t believe that his business
would be a success.
“It’s also about time that our [tuba] product should be known outside the country,” Paraliza said.
So far, some businessmen from Singapore and India have shown interest in becoming distributors of
Vino de Coco.
About five years ago, there were efforts to improve the native wine to make it taste better and sell it in
presentable bottles. But these fizzled out for unknown reasons.
In 2010, a new brand of bottled tuba found its way to the local market in the region and then to other
parts of the country. Lately, businessmen from China, India and Singapore have shown interest in the
native wine.
Paraliza set up his plant in an old warehouse in Tacloban in 2010. By late November that year, he
started producing Vino de Coco.
“I have many fresh tuba suppliers. Their problem is that they are dependent on fiestas when the
demand for tuba goes high,” Paraliza said.
Suppliers now have him as a ready market. “I want them to deliver only very fresh tuba,” Paraliza said.
The coconut sap must not be over 12 hours old, he pointed out.
The tuba plant can produce 1,875 cases of 750-milliliter wine every month. A case contains 12 long-neck
bottles.
BOTTLED Vino de Coco wines photo: VICENTE S. LABRO
Paraliza said he had yet to reach full production.

2. Vino de Coco has four varieties—sweet red, dry red, dry white and sweet white. Each bottle sells from
P220 to P250.
Paraliza said he had already received endorsement from the Philippine Coconut Authority, Department
of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Science and Technology.
Wine-making is not new to the entrepreneur. “While in the States, I had a hobby of home wine-making.
I can make wine from almost anything,” he said.
While working in the United States, Paraliza regularly visited Leyte, where he tasted the native wine
again. It still had the same taste so he vowed to make it better.
Paraliza, 67, was born in La Paz, Leyte, and moved to Cebu City where he continued his studies. His
mother, a nurse, migrated to the United States. In 1967, he was petitioned by his mother.
In Guam, where he stayed for some time, he met his wife Tila, who is from San Antonio, Texas. They
have eight children, 21 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Paraliza relocated to Leyte following his retirement in 2005.
He said he was nurturing other plans for his business, including making tuba in beer-size containers.
“We will try to compete with beer,” he said.
The price of beer is bound to increase with the implementation of the sin tax, Paraliza said. Tuba, a
traditional wine, is exempted from the tax, he added.
Asian manufacturing weakness deepens: Surveys
AFP NewsBy Kelly Olsen | AFP News – Fri, Aug 2, 2013
Asia's manufacturing sector weakened in July, private surveys showed Thursday, with China's showing a
deepening contraction amid nagging worries over the growth outlook for the world's second-largest
economy.
Closely-watched monthly assessments on Asian manufacturing released by British banking giant HSBC
showed that contractions also worsened in key exporters South Korea and Taiwan, while ongoing
expansions in India and Indonesia weakened.
A separate assessment by an industry group in Australia showed that manufacturing there contracted
further in July.
In China, HSBC's final reading of its purchasing managers' index (PMI) for July came in at 47.7, down
from 48.2 in June and the lowest since August last year.

3. The result signals "a deterioration of business conditions for the third consecutive month", HSBC said in
a release.
The PMI surveys track manufacturing activity in factories and workshops and are closely watched gauges
of economic health. A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while anything above signals expansion.
Worries over China's economy have intensified this year after an expected rebound failed to materialise.
China's economy, a key engine of global growth, grew 7.8 percent in 2012, its worst performance in 13
years.
The economy has since weakened further, with growth in the April-June period dipping to 7.5 percent,
from 7.7 percent in the first quarter and 7.9 percent in October-December.
"With weak demand from both domestic and external markets, the cooling manufacturing sector
continued to weigh on employment," QuHongbin, HSBC's chief economist for China based in Hong Kong,
said in the bank's statement announcing the figure.
China last week unveiled steps to boost growth, including reducing taxes on small companies as well as
encouraging railway construction and foreign trade incentives, leading Qu to voice some optimism.
"These targeted measures should boost confidence and reduce downside risks to growth", he said.
The news was not all bad for China, with the National Bureau of Statistics announcing that the country's
official PMI index rose to 50.3 last month from 50.1 in June, marking the 10th consecutive month it has
been in expansionary territory.
The two surveys often differ, economists said, citing divergences in sampling and timing, though they
were at odds over what the latest readings mean for the outlook for Asia's biggest economy.
"The positive signs in the official report should not be dismissed, but it is still too early to conclude a
decisive growth rebound", French bank SocieteGenerale said in a report.
Economists at ANZ bank, meanwhile, questioned the integrity of the Chinese government figure.
"It doesn't change our overall assessment of the deteriorating economy," they said.
China's new leaders say they want to wean the country off its traditional reliance on exports and
investment and refocus the economy to one that expands in a stable and sustainable fashion in which
consumer spending drives growth.
Elsewhere, South Korea's PMI slumped to 47.2 in July from 49.4 in June, HSBC said, while Taiwan's came
in at 48.6 from 49.5.

4. In India, meanwhile, the HSBC index weakened to 50.1 in July from 50.3. In Indonesia, it dropped to 50.7
from 51.0.
Separately, the Australian Industry Group's performance of manufacturing index for July fell to 42.0 in
from 49.7.
"Manufacturers are telling us that, while the fall in the Australian dollar and the May interest rate cut
have been extremely welcome, they have not yet been enough to turn around a very challenging
business environment, locally and internationally," Innes Willox, the group's chief executive, said in a
statement.