For the second year in a row, canned pineapples have replaced canned tuna as the top commodity export earner in south central Mindanao, according to the PhilExport office here.
Export receipts from canned pineapples during the first eight months of this year (January to August) reached US$136,586,501.99 from a volume of 14,616,687.13 metric tons (MT).
Last year, the region exported 27,378,769.60 MT of canned pineapple valued at US$244,414,248.87.
Including fresh and silage, total export receipts from pineapple products in 2014 were valued at US$309,403,720.65.
Canned and fresh pineapple exports from January to August this year have already totalled US$164,472,887.25.
Central Mindanao is home to Dole Philippines Inc., the country’s largest diversified agricultural company. It has over 15,000 hectares of land planted with pineapple in the several towns in South Cotabato and has expanded to Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat.
Although canned pineapple has dislodged canned tuna as the region’s top commodity export, export receipts from tuna products are still central Mindanao’s top dollar revenue earner.
