It was a priority project of then Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos to revolutionize the agricultural sector of the country and establish a food consolidation center. By the power a Presidential decree issued in January 1967, it took about more than a year to establish what was called the Greater Manila Terminal Food Market on 30 April 1968. However, the estate was renamed to Food Terminal Inc on 27 March 1974. The company’s major activities include warehousing, food processing, research and quality control, marketing services, and trading. In April 1979, the Human Settlements Development Corporation took over the ownership and management of the company. FTI became a major subsidiary of the National Food Authority.
Decline
On 1989, food trading and food processing operations were suspended. Cold storage services were also suspended in 2004 due to technical problems and viability concerns. There have been several attempts over multiple Philippines presidential administrations to sell off part of the property, including a public auction in 2009, but they all failed. In November 2012, the Philippine government announced the sale of the 74 hectares of the 120-hectare property to Ayala Land, Inc. for 24.3 billion Philippine pesos. Ayala plans to turn the property into a mixed-use development, now known as Arca South. Proceeds from the sale are pledged to the programs of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Agrarian Reform. The remaining 46 hectares remains in FTI.
Revival
FTI will be revived by the Department of Agriculture, with its reopening in Taguig. FTI still has a 36-hectare area available, with 11 hectares occupied by informal settlers. The new FTI will feature food processing and cold storage facilities for produce to be sold to various consumer and vendor associations. According to Agriculture SecretaryEmmanuel Piñol, FTI will own logistics equipment to transfer goods from regional food terminals to markets, with a total of six food terminals to be built during President Rodrigo Duterte's term. FTI aims to be the leading food processing and distribution hub in the Philippines by 2030.
Current developments
Arca South
Arca South is a mixed-use development owned by Ayala Land, Inc. located at East Service Road, South Luzon Expressway, Taguig. Out of the 120 hectares in FTI, Arca South occupies a 74 hectare property.
The FTI Special Economic Zone is a special economic zone located in Taguig. It houses industrial and retail enterprises as well as government offices such as: