DA eyes higher banana, pineapple exports

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is aiming to increase banana and pineapple production in the country to boost exports of the two major Philippine fruits.

In a statement over the weekend, the DA said it aims to sustainably increase the production of banana and pineapple, as well as other traditional and emerging high-value crops that have export potential.

“We enjoy a comparative advantage in banana and pineapple, and for this reason, we at the DA invest in the development of the high-value crops subsector through our High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP),” Agriculture Secretary William Dar said.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that banana production in the first three quarters of 2021 slightly declined to 2.358 million million metric tons (MT) from 2.362 million MT.

In contrast, pineapple grew 13.1 percent to 736,402.6 MT.

Dar said high-value crops could provide farmers and their families, entrepreneurs, and other players in the agriculture value chain sustainable income.

“This year, the ‘OneDA Family’ will continue to encourage more farmers to shift to crops that are more sturdy, resilient, and with ready market. This in addition to providing them production support, post-harvest facilities, and value-adding mechanisms to make Philippine farm and fishery products more globally competitive,” Dar said.

“Further, we will maintain our position as a major exporter of banana by containing the ‘Panama disease,’ and exploring more markets for our pineapple,”he said.

The DA said banana and pineapple rank as the country’s top agriculture exports, aside from coconut oil and other coconut products.

It cited figures from the PSA that show banana exports reached $1.95 billion and $1.64 billion in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

In the first 10 months of 2021, banana exports reached $920 million.

Meanwhile, exports of pineapple products, such as canned, juice, concentrates amounted to more than $300 million from January to October last year.

Dar said the country looks forward to more exports of fresh Cavendish bananas to Japan with the recent lifting of the 100 percent mandatory testing for Philippine banana exports.

According to the DA’s Bureau of Plant Industry, there are now 82 Philippine companies exempted from 100 percent inspection after posting high level of compliance to the set audit criteria and all phytosanitary requirements imposed by Japan.

Aside from the two major Philippine fruits, Dar said the DA would intensify efforts in promoting crops with high export potentials like mango, cacao, coffee, rubber, and okra, in partnership with the private sector and farmers’ groups.

Last year, the Philippines also successfully penetrated the South Korean market for fresh okra, benefiting thousands of farmers in Luzon. This is in addition to the existing Japanese market for “lady fingers,” which serve as a side dish or salad ingredient.

The market access breakthrough was initiated by the Philippine Okra Producers and Exporters Association in partnership with DA-BPI.

With this favorable development, Dar urged the DA-HVCDP and other concerned OneDA Family agencies to be aggressive in forging partnerships with the private sector and come up with more innovative and attractive packaging and marketing strategies.