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MANILA – The Philippines is looking to export bananas to Cambodia and Singapore, as well as increase shipments to Japan to mitigate the impact of weaker demand from China, the Department of Agriculture said over the weekend.
“We are projecting slower demand from China in time for their local fruits season. That is why it is important that we look for markets that are closer to us,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said.
China is the Philippines' second largest banana market after Japan with total shipments worth $470.96 million last year.
Local banana growers have asked for government help following China’s decision to block Philippine shipments unless stringent sanitary and phyto-sanitary requirements were met.
Beijing had blocked the entry of 200 containers of Cavendish bananas from the Philippines on suspected scale insect infestation. A Philippine inspection team sent to China confirmed that the shipments had been infested.
Another 170 containers mostly from big exporters were allowed to enter China after passing quarantine inspection.
Alcala said Japan, Cambodia and Singapore are ideal markets for small banana growers because of their proximity to the Philippines.
The Philippines early this year sent a trial shipment of bananas and other agricultural produce to Singapore to determine market demand.
Special trade agreement
Alcala said a team of experts will go to Cambodia in the first week of June to lay the ground for a special agriculture trade agreement.
The DA is also studying Korea and other Middle Eastern countries as alternative markets for Philippine bananas. The Department of Trade and Industry had said it was looking at 26 alternative markets for the country’s bananas.
Alcala said negotiations however cannot be hastened to avoid getting bargain prices for the Philippine bananas, which are the country’s second-largest dollar-earning farm produce next to coconuts.
“Hindi po natin pwedeng madaliin lahat ng ito. Nagiging maingat tayo sa negotiation para di tayo mabarat, like sa Middle East, $6 per carton dati, ngayon nasa $4.50 na lang yata,” he said.
Half of the 560,000 tons that the Philippines ships to the Middle East used to go to Iran, which at $175 million made it Manila’s third biggest market for bananas. International sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear energy program however cut off payments to Philippine banana growers.
Earlier, President Benigno Aquino III said the US had promised to assist the Philippines in seeking alternative markets for its bananas given the disruption caused by economic sanctions against Iran.
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