Philippines targeting Taiwan for fresh mango exports
Taiwan now looms as the next export market for fresh mangoes from the Philippines, an Agriculture department official told reporters last Friday.
“There was a reply from the Taiwan government asking us the measures or treatment on how we control [pests and diseases] in our mangoes. This is significant because this says that they are interested in importing our fresh mangoes,” Larry R. Lacson, director of the Bureau of Plant Industry, said.
Mr. Lacson said the department has been asking Taiwan to allow the import of Philippine fresh mangoes for more than five years now. “We wrote them around two months ago, asking about the market access of fresh mangoes to Taiwan. For the first time [in more than five years], they replied,” Mr. Lacson said.
He said the department received the reply last May 11.
“If our measures against local [pests and diseases] are okay with them, we will be allowed to export fresh mangoes immediately,” said Mr. Lacson.
Roberto C. Amores, president of Philippine Mango Exporters Foundation, Inc., welcomed the development, saying: “We welcome every move for quarantine protocols for Philippine exports.”
“The most important thing [for fresh mango exporters] right now is finding new markets to improve our product’s competitiveness in the international market,” he added.
Mr. Amores said main overseas markets for Philippine fresh mangoes are Japan and China, besides 50 other economies.
About 30,200 metric tons (MT) of fresh, processed and dried mangoes worth $34.6 million were exported by the country in January to October last year, according to data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics.
But mango production decreased 12.77% to 771,150 MT in 2009 from 884,010 MT in 2008, in the wake of typhoons that hit the country in 2008 and 2009, toppling mango trees.
Production of mangoes in the country is centered in Region I (Ilocos Region), Region III (Central Luzon) and Region VI (Western Visayas). BusinessWorld
