Diversification Of Banana Markets Urged
Banana growers have to diversify its markets outside of Japan, China and Iran to ensure that emergencies in one market cannot hamper overall trade.
Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said this after banana exporters experienced problems on the payment system following the temporary disruption of exports to Iran a few months back as a result of the US-led sanctions imposed against the country.
Iran is locked in a bitter dispute with the United States, Israel and their allies over Tehran’s nuclear program, which Washington said was clearly aimed at producing nuclear weapons.
That problem had been resolved already and export of bananas to Iran is back to normal, Domingo said.
“We have to look for other markets and do more business because we have been expanding our production,” Domingo said.
He, however, noted that the country has been able to export all of the banana production that have been grown for the export market.
“We’re basically able to sell all our produce but the banana industry keeps on expanding capacity. So more production is better because we can always sell,” he said.
Domingo said the Foreign Trade Service Corps has been instructed to look for opportunities for markets for the country’s bananas. Fruits are always in demand in the US and Europe, he noted.
Earlier, there were reports that Philippines will lose some $170 million annually in foreign exchange earnings from bananas if the recent ban on fruit imports imposed by Iran continues indefinitely.
Such a scenario would pose a problem or 64,000 Filipinos working in banana plantations and in ancillary industries like carton manufacturing, trucking, port services, and shipping.
Stephen A. Antig, executive director of the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters’ Association (PBGEA), said the ban’s potential damage is equivalent to the loss of production for 16,000 hectares of plantations.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/353411/diversification-of-banana-markets-urged
