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Export of RP bananas to US to boost earnings by 6 million dollars
Philippines
Wednesday 06 February 2008
Philippine bananas, especially those from Mindanao, will soon gain entry into the American market as the United States Department of Agriculture (US-DA) assured the Philippine government of the speedy processing of the pest risk analysis for bananas.
The DA, in a statement to Sun.Star, said this move is expected to allow the entry of the high-value commodity into the American market and boost the country's export earnings by US$6 million yearly.
“The Philippines is a leader in banana production and creating a new market would aid the livelihood of farmers in Mindanao where much of the exports are sourced,” Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said.
He added that “opening Philippine bananas to an important market, such as the US, will send a positive signal to our small farmers to diversify into high value crop production.”
During his bilateral meeting with Acting Secretary Chuck Conner of the US-DA in Washington last month, Yap said, he had identified bananas as the Philippine commodity that should be given priority in the pest-risk analysis on potential products for import.
Yap said Conner assured him that the US-DA will move to expeditiously conduct the pest risk analysis for the bananas. Philippine bananas are traditionally exported to Japan, Iran and Korea.
Private sector players in the local banana industry have earlier sent a request to the DA, through the Bureau of Plant Industry, to initiate the process of penetrating the lucrative US market to further raise earnings. Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Colombia are the top sources of bananas of the US.
The DA is targeting export earnings totaling US$475 million and the creation of over 35,000 new jobs from its ongoing program to beef up the production and sales of bananas this year. Yap said the DA is opening up more markets for bananas and other high-value commercial crops through selling and trade missions in major markets, like China and Japan and emerging markets in Europe and Asia.
The DA, in a statement to Sun.Star, said this move is expected to allow the entry of the high-value commodity into the American market and boost the country's export earnings by US$6 million yearly.
“The Philippines is a leader in banana production and creating a new market would aid the livelihood of farmers in Mindanao where much of the exports are sourced,” Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said.
He added that “opening Philippine bananas to an important market, such as the US, will send a positive signal to our small farmers to diversify into high value crop production.”
During his bilateral meeting with Acting Secretary Chuck Conner of the US-DA in Washington last month, Yap said, he had identified bananas as the Philippine commodity that should be given priority in the pest-risk analysis on potential products for import.
Yap said Conner assured him that the US-DA will move to expeditiously conduct the pest risk analysis for the bananas. Philippine bananas are traditionally exported to Japan, Iran and Korea.
Private sector players in the local banana industry have earlier sent a request to the DA, through the Bureau of Plant Industry, to initiate the process of penetrating the lucrative US market to further raise earnings. Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Colombia are the top sources of bananas of the US.
The DA is targeting export earnings totaling US$475 million and the creation of over 35,000 new jobs from its ongoing program to beef up the production and sales of bananas this year. Yap said the DA is opening up more markets for bananas and other high-value commercial crops through selling and trade missions in major markets, like China and Japan and emerging markets in Europe and Asia.
