Banana coop to supply E. Europe
Credit to Author: EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ| Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2019 16:19:31 +0000
The country’s small banana farmers cooperatives and associations have been tapped by the government to supply Cavendish bananas in Eastern European (EEU) countries, especially Russia.
This development came following a meeting between Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol and officials of banana farmers cooperatives of Compostela Valley in Davao City.
Piñol said the Agriculture department would provide support to the identified cooperatives in consolidating their banana production to access the Eastern European market, including production support such as solar irrigation facilities and fertilizers.
“This would include a long-term marketing agreement which would assure them of a market with a fixed price for their produce,” Piñol said in statement over the weekend.
He noted that the EEU market had an estimated 180 million consumers. “The market in the Russian Federation alone needs 150,000 boxes every week, according to an executive of the Magnit Supermatket, one of the biggest supermarket chains in Russia with 12,500 outlets,” he explained.
He said that while the country awaited the development of a 7,000-hectare banana farm in the Bangsamoro Area initiated by a group of Eastern European investors, the group will be buying from small independent farmers to supply their market requirements.
The Russian market alone has an annual expenditure of $5 billion for tropical fruits, mainly bananas.
Meanwhile, Piñol said the Agriculture department would also lobby Japan to lift stricter tests for chemical residue and ensure faster access of Philippine banana exports to the neighboring Asian country.
The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, Inc. (PBGEA) has asked the department to convince Japanese officials that Philippine banana exports comply with Japanese standards for maximum chemical residue levels following the institution of new protocols and assessment processes by the Bureau of Plant Industry.
“I have talked with officials of PBGEA to assure them that I will personally handle efforts to resolve the
issue,” Piñol said.
About 50 percent of the PBGEA’s bananas are exported to Japan annually.
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