Aside from tourism, Batangas also has other industries that makes it famous not only in the country but also in the world. More than anything else, Batangas is known for its fan knife, called balisong by the natives. This industry has become so famous that an urban legend exists about every Batangueño carrying a balisong everywhere they go. This is also the reason why most Filipinos would warn never to mess with a Batangueño.
Pineapples are also common in the province. Aside from the fruit, the leaves are also useful that it becomes an industry of its own. In the Municipality of Taal, pineapple leaves are being processed to be a kind of cloth known as the gusi. This is further processed to become the Barong Tagalog, the National Costume of the Philippines. In fact, the Barong Tagalog that was used by the heads of states in the last Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation in 1995 was from Batangas. Princess Diana Spencer was also known to posses a scarf made of gusi.
Batangas is also known for its livestock industry. Cattle from Batangas is widely sought throughout the country. In fact, the term Bakang Batangas (Batangas Cow) is actually synonymous to the country's best species of cattle. Indeed, the cattle industry in Batangas is so famous, that every Saturday is an auction day in the Municipalities of San Juan and Bauan.
Being near the sea, it is only expected that fishing plays a very important part of the Batangan Economy. Although the tuna industry in the country is mainly centred in General Santos City, Batangas is also known for the smaller species of the said fish. The locals even have their own names for the said fish. Some of them include the term, Tambakol, Tulingan, Bonito and another spicies also called Bonito but actually the Gymnosarda unicolor. There is also an important industry for the Tanigue.
Aside from the South China Sea, Taal Lake also provides a source of fresh water fishes to the country. The lake is home to Sardinella tawilis or simply tawilis, a species of freshwater sardine that is endemic to the lake. Taal Lake also provides farmed Chanos chanos or bangus. There is also a good volume of Oreochromis niloticus niloticus and Oreochromis aureus, both locally called tilapia. It is ecologically important to note that neither bangus nor tilapia are native to the lake. Thus they are considered invasive species to the lake.
As mentioned in the section of culture, Batangueños are indeed fond of drinking. This is of no surprise as it lies in what is called the coconut belt that is the raw material for the local liqueurs, the lambanog (with 90% proof) and the tuba (which is mae of 5.68% alcohol and 13% sugar).
Sugar is also a major industry. As a matter of fact, after the Hacienda Luisita, the country's former largest sugar producer, was broken-up for land reform, the Municipality of Nasugbu has been the home of the current largest sugar producing company, the Central Azucarera Don Pedro. This also means that Batangas is also a home for a wide industry of sweets. Rice cakes are also a strong industry.
Although Batangas has already lost its distinction as Asia's largest producer of coffee, this industry is still thriving, especially with the boost of coffee shops all over the country.
Blankets and mosquito nets are also widely available anywhere in the province. If you are lucky enough, you can buy it from peddlers.
And as the mythology of the Philippines say that from the bamboo came men and women, Batangueños learned to make a living out of it. Some towns (those that are adjacent to Laguna) have a very prosperous bamoo based industry. Here, you can see houses that are made of bamboos, furnitures made of bamboos, and even food cooked in bamboos. Natvies say that food cooked in bamboo have an added scent and flavour.
But if the locals cook in bamboos, some also eat bamboos. Baby bamboos to be exact. In these towns also, labong or the baby bamboo is cooked with coconut milk or even with other ingredients to make a truly Batangas delicacy.
One must also remember that the Capital City of Batangas hosts the second most important international seaport in the Island of Luzon. Next only to that of Manila International Port, Batangas International Port is a primary entry point of goods not only coming from the Southern part of the country but from everywhere in the world.
English (US) 