nanas to American territories such as Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii can be accomplished soon, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) said over the weekend, citing ongoing negotiations as indication.Once approved, export to US territories “will definitely lead to an increase in the country’s revenue and, therefore, boost our banana industry,” BPI Director Clarito Barron said in a statement, giving the banana sector in Mindanao as main beneficiary.
To recall, initial commercial export of Philippine bananas to Continental United States was shipped to San Diego, California, on August 20 last year with a total of 486 cartons or 6.561 metric tons (MT) of highland cavendish bananas from Bukidnon.
Barron said that through the BPI’s Plant Quarantine Services, “the creation of market opportunities through bilateral relations with importing and exporting countries and conduct of pest risk analyses has been successfully facilitated.”
The BPI official also disclosed that the declaration of the Philippines as a freedom area for mango pulp and seed weevil by the US government has helped the country to secure a rare privilege to source mango from any of its provinces, save for Palawan, for export to the US. The declaration was accomplished through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on February 8, 2013.
Barron added having that privilege via the declaration would entice other countries to import Philippine mango.
Mangoes from Guimaras and Samal Islands, as well as Davao del Sur entered the Australian market on June 8 last year. The six shipments up to July 10, 2013, to Melbourne and Adelaide, totalled 4.76 MT, equivalent to a total value of $14,587.
According to the statement, before being declared pest-free, the BPI conducted a nationwide low monitoring survey for MPW and MSW in different areas in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
The survey was done in 15 regions and 50 mango-growing provinces. Six regions and 20 provinces were surveyed in Luzon; three regions and 10 provinces in the Visayas; and, six regions and 20 provinces in Mindanao.
Out of 104,155 trees and 1,040,100 fruits targeted for sampling and collection, a total of 101,971 trees were sampled and 1,009,123 fruits were collected and dissected. The survey recorded a 96.85-percent accomplishment for trees and 96.89-percent accomplishment for fruits for the year 2013, added the statement from BPI, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.
